South Asia’s Homosexual Problem
(Theater Review): Anyone who has been to India can attest to the
conspicuousness of same-sex couples holding hands in public, walking
with arms and shoulders locked in intimate embrace. Had the same
phenomenon been witnessed in Chelsea or P-Town, we would have no doubt
that they are gay. These Indian dostis, however, are not gay. They
simply invoke more physical intimacy during their daily interactions of
friendship. And the silent minority of men and women who do fall in
love with sweethearts of the same sex also do not consider themselves
to be gay in our culturally specific sense of the term: they are men
who love men, and women who love women. Paul Knox emphasizes this
distinction in Gehri Dosti: Five Short Plays With a South Asian Bent.
His work sheds light on the complexity -- and the contextual niceties
-- of the pain encountered by same-sex lovers in the face of
persecution and intolerance. Because homosexuality in India is
culturally and religiously offensive to the heterosexual mainstream,
LBGTQs are rendered invisible and nonexistent, or else considered a
subversive cultural import from the West...Composed of five widely
divergent vignettes, Gehri Dosti explores a series of unconventional
relationships fraught with misunderstandings and failures... Knox’s
plays have a power to transport the audience into the raw, private,
even secretive, and plaintive reality of his characters. The audience
is allowed to live vicariously through them, and we privately watch
from one end of the room as the actors publicly writhe naked under
sheets or lose themselves in yoga meditation..

Males
who have sex with males in South Asia a kothi framework (Word
Download) (PDF
Download: page 53-63) It is often asked "how many MSM are there in
Bangladesh? or India?", usually by Western donors, consultants, and representatives
of many AIDS NGOs. The question appears to be reasonable on the surface,
but it actually represents a misconception in terms of the social construction
of MSM behaviours and identities in the region. The way the question is
phrased generates a conception of MSM as an exclusive group, an identity
rather than a behaviour. But, evenmore contentiously, the question itself
cannot be properly answered with any adequate response or accuracy. In
this context we should really be talking about male to male sexual behaviours
rather than specifically men who have sex with men... From the work that
Naz Foundation International has done in the region in this arena, it has
been found that the issue of MSM is complex, diverse and often counter-intuitive. - Masculinities in India: Flash Presentation & Movie.

NAZ
Foundation International: Full
Text Documents / Reports / Essays / Papers: The following titles may
or may not be available for download: Actions
For Life - Developing MSM Sexual Health Services. - Community
Mobilising.
- Developing A Community-Based Sexual Health Service for MSM. - The
Kothi
Framework. - Anal Sex and Anal STD's. - Female Partners of MSM. -
Social
Justice, Human Rights and MSM. - Masculinities and Kothi Framework in
South
Asia. - Know Your Rights - India. - MSM And Rights Based Approach.
-
Actions For Life and developing MSM sexual health services. - The
politics
of penetration. - Sexuality and sexual health in South Asia. - Cultural
constructions of male sexualities in India. - Under the Blanket -
bisexualities
and AIDS in India. - Culture. religion and human rights. - Culture,
sexualities
and identities. - Through a window darkly: Males selling sex in other
males in India and Bangladesh. - Males who have sex with males
in India and Bangladesh. - The risks of categorisation. - There are no
heterosexuals in India - only married men and men who will get married.
- Behaviour and identity. - Socio-cultural constructions of male sexual
behaviours in South Asia. - Kothis, gays and (other) MSM. - Human
rights
and sexual citizenship. - Between the covers. - The politics of
biology.
- Male to male sexual behaviours presentation. - Human Rights study in
Bangladesh on MSM. - Masculinities, sexualities and HIV/AIDS. - What
ís
in a name?. - Exporting Identity. - Islam and same-sex. - MSM and
HIV/AIDS: A South Asian Experience. - NFI- Model for an MSM
intervention.
Note:
Excerpts and Links to many of these Documents are located in Male Homosexuality
/ Homosexualities In India / South Asia: Part
1, 2, 3.
Additional Documents are referenced - with links - in the India, Bangladeh,
and Pakistan sections of this web page.

Addressing Impediments to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Support for MSM in South Asia (Shivananda Khan, Naz Foundation International)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"Issues of HIV risk for males who have sex with males (MSM) is not only
about actual behaviour but also the environment in which these
behaviours take place. Over 12 situational assessments accessing 2400
(MSM) conducted in South Asia, two studies conducted in Bangladesh and
India on impediments to sexual health promotion among MSM, and regular
activities reports from partner projects since 1997. The primary
framework of male-to-male sex in South Asia appears to be based on
gendered identities and sex roles. As a feminised male the penetrated
partner is highly stigmatised, living in an environment of social
exclusion and violence which greatly increases their vulnerability and
risk to HIV, while the penetrating partner is seen as a normative male
usually without a sexual identity and from the general male population.
Socialising networks are only kothi-based. Attacks and sexual violence
against kothis are common, while illegality, and stigma and
discrimination based on genderphobia, create denial and invisibility as
well generate social exclusion from HIV/AIDS services. Such a
disempowering environment generates high risk behaviours which are
difficult to address. Unless masculinity is addressed, sexual
responsibility strongly advocated, and appropriate and confidential
HIV/AIDS services are available that are non-discriminatory,
non-judgmental and readily accessible, where anal sex is mainstreamed
as a general male sexual health concern, along with amendments to laws
and policies, effective risk reduction strategies among MSM cannot be
sustained."

Men, Males and MSM:
The first of these is the fact that many of the men who have sex with
other men are not men. Physically mature fourteen-, fifteen-,
sixteen-year old boys and older have sex with other boys the same age
and / or with older men, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes under
coercion. (So do boys who have not yet reached the age of
puberty, but that is the different issue of child abuse.) To ensure
that prevention programmes reach these younger men, a number of groups,
most notably in South Asia, have dropped the phrase men who have sex
with men in order to refer to “males who have sex with males”. My head
sympathises, but my heart screams. For me “male” is dehumanising and
offensive, as it places us on a level with animals. (While the
physicality of the sexual act is something we have in common with
animals, our minds usually bring a dimension to sexuality that animals
lack.) I would prefer to talk about "men and boys who have sex with men
and boys", but I recognise the phrase is both cumbersome and subject to
misinterpretation (eg some may think it includes pre-pubescent boys or
others use it referring only to men and boys who have sex with both men
and boys etc etc). I usually compromise by using “men who have sex with
men” and prefacing any article or speech with the rider that by men I
include sexually mature boys, but the rider isn’t always heard and the
viewpoint isn’t shared by everyone...

For
Straights Only: " In her 22-minute documentary, For Straights
Only, Atlanta based filmmaker Vismita Gupta-Smith tells the story of
an almost invisible minority, South Asian gays and lesbians. Told from
the perspective of a straight sister about her gay brother, this film explores
the prejudices faced by the gay South Asian community (India, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Nepal). Interviews with other gay and lesbian South Asians expose
the deep-seated denial of homosexuality within this community and the dismissal
of the gay sexual orientation as a "western vice". Through the film, Vismita
points out the irony of such dismissal, as she explains that one of this
culture's most treasured ancient texts, the Kamasutra, actually celebrates
homosexuality...The most gratifying outcome of this film, Vismita insists;
is the e-mails she receive from South Asian gays and lesbians living as
far as Philippines, Indonesia, The Netherlands, UK, and Australia asking
for the film. Many Indians in the USA wanted to use the film to sensitize
their families to the issue before they come out to them."

Male Brothel History: Brief Biography of Sir Richard Burton:
As an intelligence officer assigned to go undercover in the souks and
bazaars of the Sindh, Burton perfected his language ability and
disguises and brought information back to his commanding officer, the
renowned Sir Charles Napier. One assignment required him to investigate
male brothels, where he reported that many of the customers were
British officers. His report was hushed up and he came under close
scrutiny after Napier was dispatched from India. Ill with cholera and
under the cloud of his report, he returned home, at the age of 29. -
Sex, secrecy and shamefulness (PDF Download):
There exists a great deal of male and female homosexual erotica in the
Mughal period, which indicates a wide-spread acknowledgement of desire.
Muslim rulers of India often maintained youthful male lovers, and male
brothels flourished in many Indian cities.

“Women activists alarmed by the rising
incidence of suicides among lesbians have formed Sahayathrika, an advocacy
group that provides support and counselling to troubled lesbians in Thiruvananthapuram,
India. Sahayathrika was created by a group of women activists who got alarmed
by the increasing number of suicides in Kerala committed by women who love
women. At least 21 suicide cases of women identified as lesbian have
been reported over the last five years. Most of these women are from
the lower middle class. Lesbians who are frustrated that they are unable
to lead the lives that they want because of societal pressures often commit
these suicides. Fear of social stigma is always the enemy of these women,
along with the condemnation of their family if their sexual orientation
was revealed. In Indian society, homosexuality is still considered as a
deviant behaviour, and is dismissed as a sexual delinquency or a stage
in a woman's life, which she will eventually "pass" or "get over it." Sahayathrika
workers fear that more suicides will follow if no one will reach out to
these troubled women… In spite of these setbacks, lesbians have been coming
out of hiding and are reaching out to the group. Sahayathrika workers are
happy that slowly, their efforts are gaining positive results - 25 lesbians
have contacted them since the group was formed in October 2002…”

The Indivisible: Indian queer activist Gautam Bhan on why sexuality rights need to be viewed in a different light:
Three different people; three ways of looking at sexuality. But what
are gay rights, queer rights, sexuality rights, or sexual rights? Are
they simply the right to express and not be criminalized for same-sex
desire; or are they the rights of same-sex desiring people, rights that
seek to describe and understand all parts of their lives and not just
their sexual preference? In parts of newly emerging sexuality movements
in India there is today a shift in ways of articulating the politics of
sexuality. This shift recognizes that the way sexuality is experienced
by queer people cannot be understood if it is separated from gender,
religion, language, region, caste and class...

Homosexuality And The Indian:
In India, except for a few people belonging to the English-speaking
elite in metropolitan centers, mostly in the higher echelons of
advertising, fashion, design, fine and performing arts, men (and women)
with same-sex-partners neither identify themselves as homosexuals nor
admit their sexual preference, often even to themselves. Many men -
some married - have had or continue to have sex with other men; but
only a miniscule minority are willing to recognize themselves as
homosexual. The assertion that there are hardly any homosexuals in
India and yet there is considerable same-sex-involvement seems
contradictory, yet simple to reconcile. Sex between men, especially
among friends or within the family during adolescence and youth, is not
regarded as sex, but masti, an exciting, erotic playfulness, with
overtones of the mast elephant in heat. Outside male friendship, it is
a way to satisfy an urgent bodily need or, for some, to make money.
Sex, on the other hand, is the serious business of procreation within
marriage. Almost all men who have sex with other men will get married
even if many continue to have sex with men after marriage... - Snippets from the Indian LGBT Movement.

Anti-sodomy Laws in India: Harassment & Socio-Cultural Aspects (Sachin Jain, Mumbai University)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"This paper delves into the roots of India's anti-sodomy laws full of
vague and archaic terminologies. I have discussed social factors like
patriarchy, the ebb of socialism and embrace of capitalist ways,
satellite television, the internet, a booming economy, over a billion
people, a breakdown of the joint family system, urban migration,
Bollywood cinema the omnipresence of alternate gender identities like
Hijras, Kotis etc. and the tenuous relationship they share with the
modern gay movement. The paper enumerates the effects of anti-sodomy
laws in India: exploitation, extortion, verbal harassment, the
perception of gayism as a fancy western decadence, Recent issues like
the peddling of pornography, MMS technologies in mobile phones, the
cheap availability of spycams, the advent of adult television in India
are discussed. Effects of criminalisation: invisiblisation,
misinformation, condoning of and apathy to violence against queers,
denial of access to safe sex information, hindrances in the provision
of medical services etc. are considered. I describe the difficulties in
obtaining redress, absence of a distinction between consensual and
coercive sex, child abuse issues, the use of other lower-level laws are
also used to harass queers, especially transgenders in India. The paper
discusses the immediate advantages of decriminalization of
homosexuality in the fields of health, law reform, social awareness,
increased tolerance, acceptance, decreased harassment, hate,
vulnerability, exploitation, violence, better HIV/AIDS prevention,
registration and protection of NGOs, full expression of identity and
potential. The paper ends with recommendations and advocacy to win
LGBTrights in the 21st century in India." - India's literary elite call for anti-gay law to be scrapped.

India's
Different Gay Divide: "If you are gay or bisexual, you know about
these places. They are usually public toilets, parks or secluded lanes,
and when one goes looking for sexual partners there, one tends to meet
people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. You would come across
servants and businessmen, so at least some interaction across the class
would happen... Chandran works within tight parameters. The Indian police
recently arrested two men in a "cruising area" in the northern city of
Lucknow, and Chandran is concerned that cops in other cities might begin
to bear down upon gay organizations." - India:
The Deaths of Two Women in Love: "Dead bodies of 2 young women were
found at the Satyamangalam forest area, Erode district. They had committed
suicide as they could not live apart from each other and they had a homosexual
love relationship. They wrote in their heartbreaking letter that they couldn't
live apart from each other." - The Marginality of Liminality: Experiences of Sexualizing University Spaces in India (PDF Download). - Seeking Freedom:
Indian lesbians are coming out of the closet in increasing numbers
despite knowing that society frowns on alternative sexuality and
considers them outcasts...

Closet
Drama(Alternate
Link): (Far Eastern Economic Review: Oct. 3, 2002) Caught between harsh
laws and cultural conservativeness, Indian gays often lead lives of frightened
secrecy. But now hopes are high they may be on the brink of a legal breakthrough...
Tonight's underground party on the outskirts of New Delhi is one of the
rare places where it is safe for Prafulla (who asked not to be identified
by his real name) and his three friends to dress in drag... We noticed
. . . that there was a lot of harassment . . . by goondas--that's professional
hoodlums--as well as by the police," says Shaleen Rakesh of the Naz Foundation...
Documented cases of harassment include not only extortion but also illegal
detentions and physical and verbal abuse by police. Naz, which means "pride"
in Hindi, also found that police and hoodlums were harassing their own
outreach workers: In one case police even jailed workers from another organization
for promoting so-called unnatural sex..." - Srila
Prabhupada on the Third Sex: “I Do Not Know Exactly…” -

A
eunuch pioneers in India politics: Lower
Than the Untouchables, 'Hijras' Begin to Change Some Popular Prejudices: "For years after she was taken from her family by
a gang of eunuchs, Ms. Nehru dwelled in a subculture of sexual outcasts
who rank lower in India than the untouchables. They are notorious for crashing
weddings, singing raunchy songs and dancing until paid to leave. But after
her election to the municipal council in this city in northern India three
years ago, Ms. Nehru has outshone her peers at getting water, sewer lines
and roads for her district, a transformed slum." - Tritiya-Prakriti:
People of the Third Sex. - Sexual behaviour in India with risk of HIV/AIDS transmission (PDF Download):
In addition to a large section of the hijra community, there are many
full-time or part-time male prostitutes in India. Some of them live in
red-light areas of metropolitan cities; many seek male clients by
offering massage services in parks, beaches, hotels and houses.
Thousands of homeless and poor boys and young men employed in various
establishments and firms are compelled to provide sexual services to
their male bosses in return for their job security. Young men who work
as helpers to highway truck drivers in their long trips provide such
services...

Photo Exhibition “ARAVAN ARAVAN (Anita Khemka, Photo Ink, New Delhi)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"My photo documentation of 'The Aravan Festival' - a festival of
eunuchs, gays & bisexuals was published as a book by UNAIDS. I am
keen on preparing an exhibition of the same for your conference. This
is the only socially accepted festival in the subcontinent that is
entirely dominated by transsexuals, transvestites, & eunuchs; gays
& bisexuals. It takes place in Koovagam, a nondescript village, and
transforms the sleepy village into an arena of camaraderie, jubilation,
nuptials and mourning. The origins of this cultural festival can be
traced to a Hindu tale from the Epic 'The Mahabharatha' in which
Aravan, a man about to be sacrificed to the gods, asked to be married
before dying. To fulfill this last wish, Lord Krishna is said to have
assumed the form of a beautiful woman, Mohini and married Aravan. The
trans-gendered community, believes that they are like Lord Krishna -
born as men but who take the form of a Mohini to satisfy the sexual
needs of men. In India, issues such as celebration of sexual identity,
homosexuality & transgenderedness are very rarely addressed. The
exhibition, besides giving a glimpse of the diversity of these
communities in India also focuses on interesting perspectives, and
shows how certain cultural practices and traditional societies accepted
individuals and communities that are now seen as social deviance and
shunned by modern societies. It is essentially a study of sexual
identity in the Indian social and cultural environment with a focus on
HIV/AIDS."

A
Tour Beyond the Taj Mahal (Must Scroll): (Alternate Link) "I'm not one to read "gay"
into a place if it's not there. In India, same-sex behavior runs a close
second to cricket as the national pastime. The gay cruising spots in Indian
cities are well known and busy. Truck stops offer not only female sex workers,
but male sex workers as well. Hotels usually have massage or "towel" boys
available to exchange pleasure for the equivalent of $2 or $3 U.S. of rupees...
The invisibility of gay men in India is also perpetuated by gay men
themselves. There are plenty of rich, influential gays who could make a
difference but choose not to upset their comfortable lives. Coming out
would distress their mothers and shame their wives, adversely affect the
family business and, worst, make it difficult to get inexpensive sex...
"And all the risk groups are not being dealt with. For instance, homosexuality
-- well, it's illegal, so people don't come out. In Bombay it's somewhat
different -- you must know about Bombay Dost and Ashok Row Kavi -- so something
is being done there. First the government said there was no AIDS in India,
then they said there was no sex, now they say there is no same-sex behavior."
- Sexual
Taboos Hamper India’s Fight Against AIDS. - Homophobic
Police ABuse of India's AIDS Workers Worsens.

Gay
Bombay Home Page: - Coming
Out Stories. - Issues:
Links to. - Gay
Bombay comes out. - Articles. - For
people like us: A placard reading ‘Indian and lesbian’ caught the eye
and set tongues wagging in Delhi. Ashwini Sukthankar chronicles a sexual
revolution in the making. - Being
Lesbian in India.(Alternate Link) - An
interview about being lesbian in India. - Tour de Queer India: A German’s fascination with strong women (PDF Download):
"I came to India, looking for lesbians there, thinking they must be
terribly suppressed and totally unheard off. I wanted to learn more
about them, and thought I could help them getting a wider public
abroad. I was fortunate enough to have a friend in Delhi, who
introduced me to many others. I met all these lesbians, bisexuals,
dykes, women attracted to women, and whatever else they may call
themselves. I learned to say queer women, and I was impressed. I
learned much more. The women I met were so much more at home in queer
discourses, so much further in developing concepts, so much more active
than me. It was fascinating. The women were fascinating. It was the
best trip through India I had so far. India became so much more
diverse, vibrant, exciting than I thought before, knowing only my
conservative family...

Networks,
Language and Sexual Behaviors of Men who have Sex with Men in an Urban
Setting (PDF
Download) (Download
Page): "The present study was taken up in Pune. This is second largest
city (next to Mumbai), in the western state of Maharashtra in India. It
has a population of around 2.4 million..." - Assessment
of transsexual and homosexual activity in Madras, India. - Gays
in India closeted by caste and class: "The Indian gay male community
that exists at the moment is made up of privileged middle and upper class
men who keep in contact through a private net-work. Everyone is married
- or at least expected to be. Homosexuals of other classes may be tolerated
on the margins of this group for sexual purposes... The real Indian
gay man has yet to surface in strength to challenge the prevailing heterosexist
culture and the mythology of the family."

Geographies of Contagion: Hijras, Kothis and the Politics of Sexual Marginality in Hyderabad, India (Gayatri Reddy, University of Illinois at Chicago)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"For
the first time, a couple of years ago, a medical clinic for “all lgbt
individuals” was opened in the south-Indian city of Hyderabad. As one
of the gay-identified volunteers at the clinic informed me, this
facility was indeed for “all gays and kotis…but please tell hijras (the
so-called third sex or indigenous transgendered identity) to come only
on Sundays.” On further inquiry, I was told that this injunction was
necessitated because gay men’s respect was at stake: “If hijras come
during a weekday, what will people think? Everyone will know this is a
‘homosex’ clinic then, and our respect will go.” Drawing on such
constructions of sexuality, respect, and stigma this paper explores the
emergence and contextual deployments of the signifiers gay, koti,
homosex, and hijra in Hyderabad, and their increasingly complex and
fluid circulations within the semantic fields of AIDS and sexual rights
discourses. By mapping the geographies of stigma and contagion between
and among these various “sexual identities,” this paper highlights the
multiple, shifting constructions of sexual politics, citizenship, and
rights operating in contemporary India."

Stand
up and be counted gay!
"Professor Rao, openly homosexual himself, argued that "homosexuals should
come out and become politicised to fight for their rights in India." "Only
when your homosexuality becomes a passionate identity can a gay movement
become a success in this country," was pretty much the underlying
tenor of Professor Rao's speech." - Hidden
homosexuals: Fugitives in their own land: "It took Chopra 30 years
to muster the courage to come out of the closet. Yet, he is luckier than
most of his ilk. For, 99 percent of the country's gay men and women remain
closeted all their lives. A sexual revolution may have come to India's
heterosexual world, but it is yet to touch theirs."

At
Home in a World of Strangers. Towards a Comparison of Gay Urban Cultures:
-
Madras,
India: "In traditional Indian sexual culture a concept of homosexuality
does not exist. What does exist is a specific expression of third gender
called Hijra (in the North) and Ali in the South. Ali and Hijra come close
to the Western transsexual (men who feel like females and have the desire
for a sex change). It is estimated that in Madras some 200 Ali sell sex.
They work the streets and have cruising places of their own. This circuit
is part of this study. The other important circuits are constituted by
men. Danga (effeminate men, prefer passive role in sex with other men),
double-deckers (neutral gender identity, but prefer same-sex relations),
panthi (masculine men who have sex with men, ali and women), the whole
gamut of men who have sex with men including those who do not necessarily
have any preference for the same sex, but are into it for business (rent
boys) are the target of this study. Gay culture in India is still in a
nascent stage. Men who have a feminine strain in their gender identity
and have an exclusive preference for the same sex are largely underground
and not out in the open."

Intertextual Sexuality: Parodies of Class, Identity, and Desire in Liminal Delhi (PDF Download):
This article examines articulations of class, identity, and desire as
performed by a community of kotis in northern India, a transgender
group that impersonates a second transgender group known as hijras in a
staged event called “hijra-acting.” Through a linguistic parody of
lower-class hijras performing a birth celebration for their upperclass
patrons, kotis critique the class-based animosity between hijra and gay
sexualities in contemporary India, spoofing the sexual desires
associated with both groups as inferior to their own. The analysis
demonstrates that identity and desire are best understood as mutually
constituted intertextual phenomena, with both importantly reliant on
ideological linkages of language and socioeconomic class for their
articulation.

India's gays tiptoe anonymously into the limelight:
Shrenik uses only one name to avoid being clearly identified. The young
film director has chosen not to invite relatives or friends from home
to attend the premiere of his film Lost and Found tonight in Delhi. He
hopes his parents never see it.His is one of half a dozen new films on
being gay in India, which will be shown this week as part of the
country's first gay arts festival, an event that marks a cautious
edging towards the mainstream of a long-oppressed community. 'Such an
event would have been unthinkable even five years ago,' Gautam Bhan,
one of the organisers of the QueerFest, said... - Filmmaker Faisal Saif: I understand that your movie Come December
was banned by Indian censors twice. Can you explain why it was banned,
and what your opinion about that is? My film was the first feature film
in India that spoke about homosexuality. And three years earlier,
according to Indian censors, our Indian audience was not ready to face
this film. We went ahead in courts and finally the high court permitted
the film with an A certificate (NC 17) but they still gave 17 major
cuts. I was very depressed by this though, that at the end of the day a
film's fate is decided by 5 to 6 people.

Queering Bollywood:
Queering Bollywood is an exhibition and demonstration of a collection
of queer readings in Indian cinema. It is open and collaborative in
nature. The idea for doing something like this was born at the Queer
film festival organized by Pedestrian Pictures in 2003. The idea was to
initiate the process of analysing and collecting information on queer
representations in cinema, especially in the Indian context, by
creating a database of resources ranging from articles, film clippings,
magazine stories etc., aiming eventually to create:..." - Gay-Themed Film Tests Sensibilities in India:
... a low-budget drama called "My Brother Nikhil" opened in movie
theaters across India, telling the story of a gay man's struggle with
his family and his country after contracting the virus that causes
AIDS...

Ethics of Representation: The Indian Queer, Media and Art (Sumanyu Satpathy, Delhi University)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"Indian
queer theorists such as Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai have striven to
show how same-sex love is part of India's cultural heritage without a
trace of homophobia. Though homophobia is a relatively late entrant in
Indian culture via Christian morality and British legislation,
right-wing activists have claimed otherwise. They routinely attack
cinema halls screening movies with explicit scenes of lesbian love.
Showing surprising insensitivity, the Indian media recently
sensationalized news of the murder of two gay men in New Delhi,
highlighting the crime as a gay crime. As before, queer activists like
Kavi pointed out how the media treated such news in an insensitive
manner, seeing queer existence in terms of criminality and depravity.
The positive fallout of these controversies has been that more and more
people are participating in the debates and queer existence has gained
some visibility, with many coming out in defense of the sensitive
portrayal of lesbian identity. Also, the homophobic tirade against
films and theatre is being increasingly matched by equally vehement
protests by queer activists which might result in greater tolerance.
Whereas queer activists raise the question of ethics concerning media
coverage, they rarely probe the ethicality of queer conduct and ethics
of representation of these identities. My paper examines ethical issues
concerning the act of coming out, media responsibilities, and those of
the queer activists, not only towards the queer community but also to
the society in general."

Why
Can't Women Love Women? "A major area of concern is
the oppressive social structure and violent opposition to lesbian love
that drives many young women to commit suicide. Two girl students at Nanavati
College (Mumbai) committed suicide in September 1998 because their parents
were opposed to their relationship. In October 1998, two young women from
Hulipur village in Orissam signed a notarized "Deed of Agreement for Partnership
as well as to remain Life Partner". Four days later, they consumed poison
and left a joint suicide note that no one should be held responsible for
their death." - Controversial
Hindi flick provokes civil unrest N/A. - 'Obscene'
Tamil film angers women. - Girlfriend, Review.

First International Conference of Asian Queer Studies (2005): Papers available for download.
- The 2005 Conference Abstracts: Many of these possible papers were
either not presented or not made avaible as full text papers (PDF Download) (Alternate Link). - Titles for abstracts of these paper: related to India: - We don't do data, we only do action-based work
(Chandra Shekhar Balachandran, The Dharani Trust, Bangalore, India). - Creating a Lesbian Utopia: Reading the Queer Subtext of Mira Nair’s India Cabaret (Bidisha Banerjee, Independent Scholar). - Sexuality and the Politics of Space: A Study of Gays in New Delhi City of India
(Kiran Bhairannavar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi): "The
paper looks into how Spaces of home, workplace, public spaces and
society at large are appropriated and controlled by the heterosexual
majority thus marginalizing gays to suffering, discrimination and
harassment...." - “It's not my job to tell you, it's okay to be gay”: Medicalisation of Homosexuality (Vinay Chandran, Swabhava Trust, Bangalore, India). - Bollywood Spectacles: Queer Diasporic Critique in the Aftermath of September 11th (Gayatri Gopinath, University of California at Davis). - Anti-sodomy Laws in India: Harassment & Socio-Cultural Aspects (Sachin Jain, Mumbai University). - Photo Exhibition “ARAVAN ARAVAN (Anita Khemka, Photo Ink, New Delhi). - Geographies of Contagion: Hijras, Kothis and the Politics of Sexual Marginality in Hyderabad, India (Gayatri Reddy, University of Illinois at Chicago). - Ethics of Representation: The Indian Queer, Media and Art (Sumanyu Satpathy, Delhi University). - Queering Sex Work? Sexuality and Sexual Commerce in Urban India (Svati Shah, New York University). - Fag Hags in Filipino Queer Culture: Friendships, Identities, and Personality (Beatriz Torre, University of the Philippines Diliman). - Queer Diasporas and the Transnational Filipina Body (Gina Velasco, University of California).

BANGLADESH
- Pushing Boundaries
(Special feature): Anything related to gender and sexuality in general
is regarded as a taboo subject in Bangladesh. On the off chance that
sexual minorities such as women, homosexuals, hermaphrodites,
trans-genders (hijras) and sex workers are given a platform to speak
about their issues, it is usually about just that -- issues. Such
platforms are usually entrenched with stereotypes and negativity.
Forget tolerating and giving equal rights to these minorities, it is
difficult enough for most people in Bangladesh to accept that these
issues exist, that they are real, that these people are a part of our
society and that they, too, want to live a life free of stigma and
sexual repression. In
trying to take steps towards eliminating the ignorance and indifference
towards these groups, BRAC University's James P Grant School of Public
Health hosted the first International Workshop on Gender and Sexuality
from July 28-30 at the BRAC Centre where not only were there
participants and presenters from Bangladesh but also hailing from
different parts of the world... "Sexuality as a broader topic is not
discussed," says Dr. Rashid. "And
when it is, it is usually associated with negative terms such as
HIV/AIDS, diseases, guilt; or couched in public health issues, such as
the importance of practicing safe sex and abortion, but sexuality
itself is a huge issue..

Community Building in Bangladesh
(Must Scroll): The same-sex scene among men in Bangladesh is
"distinctive," says Dr. Carol Jenkins, who was recently an FHI advisor
there. In the fundamentalist Islamic area of Sylhet, for example,
traditions tacitly permit older men to have sex with younger men
because it contributes to the maintenance of female purity. However, as
Dr. Jenkins puts it, "the acceptability is in private -- publicly it is
deplored." She noted that a random sample of rickshaw pullers this year
in Chittagong, another conservative city in Bangladesh, revealed that
60 percent of the men had engaged in sex with other men in the last
year. Faced with this double standard of private tolerance and public
condemnation, FHI is supporting the Bandhu Welfare Society, a local
organization that has developed an effective, discreet strategy for
reaching men who have sex with men in Bangladesh. "As being a man who
has sex with men is a serious source of shame to men if their families
find out," Dr. Jenkins said, "bringing these men together and giving
them a safe space in which to discuss their sexual health issues has
been extremely valuable and successful.".Gay Bangla:
"There has been a number of cases where the family has accepted the
same sex proclivity of their sons, and even daughters. While family
dinners with same sex partners are still not in, children are not
thrown out if they are revealed to be homosexuals.But there certainly
are difficulties when homosexuals first declare their preference, known
as "coming out" in gay parlance. Most families respond with dismay and
a kind of corporate shame. Many feel that they have gone wrong
somewhere in the child's upbringing. Since some gay activists in
Bangladesh are very highly educated, once in a while, foreign education
is cited as a reason for being gay. In fact, Bangladeshis are very
active on the global gay scene. But those still in the closet oscillate
between confusion, guilt and fear. "Why do they hate us?" asks a gay
man in Dhaka... - Blurring
the gender lines in Bangladesh. - Dhaka Diary: Gays and Lesbians: the hidden minorities of Bangladesh.

Gay Bangladesh:
Arriving in Dhaka, the capitol of Bangladesh, is instant immersion into
the dense capitalistic present attached to equally intense traditions
of family and Islam. Anywhere a visitor looks there are hoards of
people-- dark faces, beautiful and weathered, young and old. But
nowhere will one see anything that resembles a gay community.
Homosexual life is a stealth subculture that thrives in secrecy yet
enjoys the benefits of permissive friendship intimacy...It is virtually
impossible for an outside casual gay visitor to access poorer class
gays, unless by accident or an offer of money, both of which are very
unlikely since homosexuality as a mutually intentional sex act is
indiscernible among the semi or uneducated underclass in Bangladesh... - LGBT rights in Bangladesh. Sexual
health workshops in Bangladesh and India for males who have sex with males.
- Different
Views and Experiences on Covering Homosexuality: Bangladesh: "In my
country, homosexuality is invisible in the mass media. But I had ever seen
a picture of homosexual people presenting in a column named "the odd world"
in the foreign page of a English newspaper. It seems that homosexuality
only exist in the western country in the other part of the world. But everyone
knows it is not true..."

Reproductive health needs of adolescents in Bangladesh: a study report [WP130, 1999] (PDF Download): "Homosexuality: In each of the
study areas, there was at least one adolescent boy participant who knew
about an adult male who was having sex with adolescent boys, and adolescent
boys who were having sex with boys of similar age. This activity was termed
as ‘jeena.’ Sometimes the men who were doing so provided incentives to
their young partners. Some of the men were said to have forced young boys
to have anal sex."

Bangladesh
Street Children Suffer Sexual Abuse: Officials estimate that there
are some 20,000 to 30,000 children between the ages of eight and 16 now
living in this city's streets... "There are some kids who take it as a
game and later share the experience with friends," he also says. "And thus
multiple- partner sexual involvement becomes a habit for many as they grow
up. Girls do it for fun and for earning a living. Homosexual practices,
too, are very high among the boys." - Trafficking
and Prostitution in Bangladesh: "Prostitution in Bangladesh is not
limited to girls and women. Government representatives and social scientists
try to believe there is no homosexuality in Bangladesh. They don’t think
there are boy prostitutes, but there are. They deny the existence of homosexuality
or that women may also look for male prostitutes."

The
Shadow Citizens: (Alternate
Link, Must Scroll) There are gays in every society, including Bengali
society, and there is no sense in suppressing and stifling homosexuality
(In: Himal:
The South Asian Magazine): "They will forgive me if I commit a murder but
not if they find out that I have a boy friend." Mohsin is 28 years old,
a Bangladeshi, and a gay. He was speculating on the possible reaction of
his upper middle class family members if they were to discover his sexual
preference... One of the reasons that homosexuality is treated so gingerly
is that the country's Criminal Code decrees sodomy (homosexuality or advocacy
of the same) a crime which is punishable with a jail sentence. Any discussion,
not to speak of debate, is hence ruled out and homosexuality is driven
into the shadow world... It is a different story for lesbians, however.
Although it is no secret that dormitories record incidences of lesbianism
and studies have corroborated the fact, it is kept a secret fearing loss
of marriage prospects... The situation is somewhat different in Bengali
society across the border in India. At the elite level, there is considerable
acceptance of homosexuality and of gay groups..."

Why
gay men flee Bangladesh. - Anne
Frank's story recalled as gay couple fight to stay in Australia: "The
Anne Frank analogy has become central to a case before the court over whether
a gay couple from Bangladesh should have their claim for refugee status
refused on the grounds that they would not face persecution if they kept
their homosexual relationship hidden... The barrister for the men, Bruce
Levet, said they faced bashings by police if they lived as an openly gay
couple in Bangladesh. - Bangladesh's
gay prostitutes take a step out of the closet. (Alternate Link) "But male sex workers
are worried less about court action than about physical attacks. Many of
the prostitutes are quickly singled out for being effeminate. Milan, 20,
said he left home when his family learned of his orientation. After renting
his first house on his own he was forced to move out when the owners also
discovered his lifestyle. "My family did not accept my way of life as they
noticed I was feminine and so I started prostitution to feed myself. What
else could I do?" he asked. Milan said he has been beaten publicly -- and
that the assailants would secretly come to him later for sex..."

Dhaka
Forced To Face Sex Taboos: (Alternate
Link: Must Scroll) (Alternate Link) "Homosexuality, in theory, does not even
exist. But in reality, its practice is creating a dilemma for Bangladeshi
authorities, social workers and medical professionals... It is not difficult
to find male "sex workers" in the city. Each evening they can be seen loitering
at busy intersections and parks that are well-known pick-up points... Among
male sex workers in Dhaka, two brothers named Kalam and Lalu are perhaps
the best known. Aged 26 and 24 respectively, both are dumb. An elder brother
tried beating them to stop their "horrible acts", but now others in the
family accept the situation. A nephew said: "Every morning my uncles come
home with their pockets bulging with money. For poor people like us, money
is crucial."

Revealing
an Underworld Network: Male prostitution in Ramna.
Lahari and Faraaz claimed that men of all social classes engage in sexual
encounters with one another at Ramna. From "bureaucrats to university students
and from truckdrivers to respectable officers frequent Ramna to buy sex
from the male prostitutes." Faraaz and Lahari informed the Star that every
evening between 8 and 10 p.m. are the peak hours of male prostitution in
Ramna. Aside from the hijras there are also transvestites (men dressed
up as women) who operate in a different space in the Park from the female
sex-workers. There is an underlying agreement between the two groups not
to infringe upon each other’s space, activities or clients. Most of these
men receive an average of 12 to 15 partners each night. The researchers
made an important distinction between the sex-workers and their clients.
According to the researchers, the sex-workers are usually men from working
class backgrounds who participate in prostitution for financial benefits.
The clients on the other hand, visit the sex-workers because they have
limited options to express their sexuality or desire for other men. Many
of these clients are leading mainstream heterosexual lives and are even
married to women.

Males
who have sex with males in India and Bangladesh: (Word
Download N/A) (Similar Document: The Kothi Framwork: Word Download): "It is often asked “how many MSM are there in Bangladesh?
or India?”, usually by Western donors, consultants, and representatives
of many AIDS NGOs. The question seems to be reasonable and make sense,
but it actually represents a misconception of the context of male sexual
behaviours in the region. In this context we should really be talking about
male to male sexual behaviours rather than men who have sex with men (MSM).
Further, the way the question is phrased generates a conception of MSM
as an exclusive group, an identity rather than a behaviour. But, even more
contentiously, the question itself cannot be answered with any adequate
response or accuracy. In summary what we can say about male to male behaviours
in Bangladesh and India is that..."

Men
who have sex with men in Bangladesh N/A: (Pukaar Newsletter # 8, NFI) "There has been much intellectual
work in recent years developing new theories of sexuality to try to explain
the diversity of sexual interests and lifestyles that appear around the
world. Many of these confound the simple notion that has been used in the
West for the last 100 years to categorise human sexual expression into
two simple aspects of a binary opposition the 'normative' heterosexuality
and its dark side, 'homosexuality'. These two categories and the conceptual
opposition pinning them together no longer hold weight when faced with
the sexual diversity in many parts of the world, including Bangladesh.
This is also increasingly acknowledged in many other developing countries
where, once this binary opposition is set aside, we see much more complexity
in human sexual expression."

A market and a mosque: (Alternate Link)
And there’s another and another and another. Dotted around me are
elegant, handsome young men in shirts and lunghi - long skirts - that
are a little more colourful, a little more clean and a little more
tightly bound than the men around them... And so an old man in white
with a thick moustache and a curved back approaches the haughtiest
youth, a fair-skinned broad-faced young man who in other circumstances
might have a career as an actor or a model, but the conversation does
not go far. A few minutes later I see the old man in another part of
the market drinking a tea with another youth. They are more engaged and
in a few minutes they will disappear down an alleyway to where a room
can be rented for 50 taka (£0.50, $0.90) for an hour. We are
joined by Ajoy, a Bandhu peer educator – someone who each evening goes
out and talks to the young men, tells them about HIV/AIDS and condoms
and the drop-in centre where they can see a doctor and meet other young
men like themselves. I’ve already spoken to men who sell sex in Dhaka.
I would like to do so here, but I do not want to deprive them of their
earning time and I do not want to be the centre of attraction. Things
are changing, Ajoy tells me, in a number of ways. Firstly, the money
that the men make is going up – 50 to 100 taka now, instead of 30 to 50
taka two or three years ago. That means that their overall income can
now be between 10,000 and 15,000 taka (£100 - £150 / $180 -
$270) a month – considerably more than the Ajoy or Paritosh...

Confessiomns of a karaoke singer:
We order, drink and talk. Fernando’s eyebrows rise when I admit to
being gay. After a moment’s silence he asks if I think he is too. I had
assumed not, but I put together the question, his prissy manner,
worried frown and faded Hawaiian shirt. Yes, I think he’s gay. “How
should I know?” I say. “I’m engaged to be married,” he tells me. “Oh,”
I reply. “But I’ve had many gay experiences,” he goes on. “Oh,” I
repeat. “Perhaps I am gay.” “Perhaps,” I shrug, not knowing what to
say... What kind of man do you like, Fernando asks. He wants me to
specify height, weight, body shape and other vital statistics, but I
can only vaguely describe good looks and empathy. He is attracted to
large, well-endowed men. Unfortunately there have been few in his life;
he is sure that more would help him decide if he really was gay...

HIV/AIDS:
Bagladesh (Alternate Link): Heterosexual relations of men who have sex with men
in Bangladesh: a cultural understanding
(Must Scroll): Studies on men who have sex with men (MSM) have tended
to focus on measuring risk behaviours, with less attention given to the
understanding of the meanings of their heterosexual relations. This
results in missed opportunities for HIV interventions... The double sex
life has implications for STI/HIV transmission among MSM and their male
and female partners. Current interventions do not include MSMs entire
sex life, instead stigmatise MSM by separating them from other men.
Thus, understanding the breadth and meanings of sexual life of men is
the key to reach MSM and their female partners. The task is difficult
but achievable if the complexity of relationships is recognized in the
local context."

Application of
the Capture-Recapture Method for Estimating Number of Mobile Male Sex Workers
in a Port City of Bangladesh:PDF
Download."Although two-sample capture-recapture surveys are suitable
for closed populations, this method was here applied to indirectly estimate
the number of mobile MSWs in a conservative social setting, a port city
of Bangladesh. Use of the method resulted in an estimation of 248 MSWs
(95% confidence interval, 246-250) who picked up clients only at open and
known contact venues. This estimate does not, however, reflect the total
number as MSWs who worked in unknown hidden venues and could not be reached."
- A
propos des lieux de rencontre homosexuels. - Risky sexual practices amongst MSM in public sex environment in Dhaka of Bangladesh.

In their own words: the Formulation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Behaviour Among Young Men in Bangladesh: (Alternate Link) "Male-to-male friendships, however, are actively supported, and
casual sexual encounters between male friends as well as sex between
masculine males and feminised males is quite common and accepted, even
though this behaviour may be socially disapproved. All respondents in
the general population of males reported having male friends who do sex
with other male friends. This was not seen as sexual friendship, but as
“friends helping friends” achieve discharge based on personal sexual
needs. All kothi-identified males reported that they usually do sex with their masculine friends, but not with other kothi
friends or with female friends. They also reported that they knew of
many masculine males who do sex with their manly friends. They did not
consider this to be normal behaviour since both males were manly.

Bangladesh:
Rape fuel Bangladesh and India AIDs Crisis: (Alternate Link) "Police officers and
crime lords who sexually abuse gay men and sex workers are stoking an emerging
AIDS epidemic in Bangladesh, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report warned on
Tuesday. Additionally, the officers often attack AIDS outreach workers,
in a direct blow to the people attempting to contain the virus... The report
gives case studies of people who have complained about the police brutality
toward gay men. One victim, Mohammed H, 17, said he has been arrested and
raped many times for no reason other than being gay. "About three months
ago," he said, " I was arrested by police and taken to a police camp and
then from there, to a sugar cane field." "Four people raped me. I thought
I could not continue and feared that a fifth person would rape me, so I
ran away. I was completely naked. I had to go to my house by way of the
outside of town." "I was most recently raped by police three or four days
ago." - Cops
on AIDS alert list. (Note: Article may move: Google Search). Ravaging the Vulnerable: Abuses Against Persons at High Risk of HIV Infection in Bangladesh - Table of Contents. (With links to HLTM sections of report and PDF Files for full report.

Are You Gay? Can you prove it?
(Related to a Bangladesh refugee case): That might seem to be a strange
question. More commonly, people struggle to pass as “straight” in
the face of constant speculation that they might be gay.
Generally speaking, being gay involves such a stigma that if a
person willingly declares that he is gay, most people would be inclined
to accept that without further proof. But if you want to stay in
Australia as a refugee because, as a gay person, you face persecution
in your home country, you will be asked this question... - Related
Information: Under the Gaydar.

Nepal’s New Constitution and the Fundamental Rights of Minorities:
On January 8 [2007], the Blue Diamond Society organized a conference to
discuss the possibility of constitutional rights for sexual minorities.
It was the first time in the recorded history of Nepal that such an
event had occurred in a formal way, in the presence of numerous
lawyers, jurists, and advocates. The honorary guest of the event was
Justice Laxmi Prasad Aryal, a prominent figure in the juridical history
of Nepal and the current head of the Interim Constitution Drafting
Committee... - Happy to be gay: (Alternate Link) On 18 January the Supreme Court will make a landmark ruling on the legal status of homosexuality in Nepal. - Rights For Nepal's Lesbian:
Lesbians in Nepal have demanded equal rights including political
involvement and social security, arguing that they - like other
citizens - actively took part in last year's movement that restored
democracy ending King Gyanendra's absolute rule... - Nepal army boots soldiers for lesbianism:
The military denied the claim.... Nepal's Constitution bars
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but the army does
not have any clear regulations on the issue. - Trans-gender obtains citizenship. - Nepali man first to be recognised as “he” and “she”.

Coming Out in Nepal.
- Arrest
for girls in love (Biratnagar, Nepal). - Police
Detain Lesbian Youths In Nepal: Protection Against Mob Violence Urgently
Needed. - Different
Views and Experiences on Covering Homosexuality: Nepal. - My Cross-cultural
Experience (Nepal): "Before coming to Sweden, I see homosexuality as
an anti - natural thing. I was in a mind that they are destroying the balance
of the nature as well as the society. But after visiting the ILGA (International
Lesbians and Gays Association ) I began to re-think about it, said Manju
Thapa from Nepal... ¨A significant thing relating to homosexuality
in my country is that ¨they¨ (homosexuals) do not want to identify
themselves as ¨gays¨ or ¨ lesbians¨ any more. They keep
on saying that they are only best and true friends¨, she said." - Gay
Jatra:
“We don’t want a revolution, just the same respect given to
everyone else. On Wednesday, Nepalis celebrated Gai Jatra with
political satire, outlandish costumes and cross dressing. It was
therefore a readymade occasion for the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) to
stage Nepal’s annual gay pride march. Sunil Babu Pant, the founder,
says, “All we want is to bring about awareness about homosexuality and
celebrate it. We are not changing Gai Jatra into a gay jatra. This
exercises our right to express ourselves.”...” - Gays
allege detention, torture; cops spin another tale
(Must Scroll): "The police forced a group of homosexual men into
custody early this morning and detained them for about four hours at
Durbar Marg police station and tortured them, says the group. "We went
to a disco last night and then to Oriental restaurant which is open 24
hours a day. As soon as we got out of the restaurant and were heading
home, some police personnel took us to a corner and told us they were
taking us to a police station," said Ramesh Rai...".

Cops
beat Nepalese gays (Alternate
Link) - Nepal:
The brutal assault of two homosexuals by the Armed Police in Kathmandu:
"Then the police threw both Jaya and Mani into the police van. In the van,
the police tied up their hands, covered their faces, and forced them to
lie face down. While the police drove around for almost one hour, they
severely beat Jaya and Mani with boots and rifles in the van... were taken
to an unknown Armed Police camp. There, they were taken to a dark room
and about 15 to 20 police men came and started beating them severely. The
police accused them of being Maoist. After two hours of assault, the police
forced Jaya and Mani to give them oral sex. But they couldn't perform this
act even to save themselves from further beating and torture because they
were severely injured by the assault..." -
Nepal's
gay community angry over police "atrocity":
"Gay rights activists have been beaten by police officers in Nepal,
after they protested over the country's lack of equality for sexual
minorities, according to local press reports. The group's rally took
place outside the country's seat of government, the Singha Durba, in
Kathmandu earlier this week the Himalayan Times says..." - Transgendered Nepalese face discrimination, abuse in Kathmandu.

Dressed
up as women, they mark Teej in style: "They looked similar to thousands
of women in red celebrating Teej today. Wearing saris, bangles, lipsticks,
eyebrows, beads and tikas, they ? about two dozens of them - had gathered
at the Blue Diamond Society to dance, sing and to have fun of the women?s
festival. They were actually gays, dressed up as women, and they celebrated
Teej as any other Hindu women who observe the festival wishing for the
health and long-life of their husbands... Another meta said that nobody
was inferior to others. “But our society hates us and takes us as criminals
or inferior even to women.”We are not to be blamed when the
nature guided us to follow it, said a ta from Dharan. Ta is a man who acts
as man... But they also are afraid to disclose their secrecy in the outside
? even to their families. While the dancing was going on, a gay phoned
to say that he could not come because his father had arrived from outside
the valley."

A
new voice (Must Scroll): "Aunique cultural event took place on
the day of Gaijatra this year in the Valley.The homosexuals for the first
time in the cultural history of Nepal marched into the open space. The
demonstrators appealed the public not to take their demonstration as a
mere gay jatra. According to them, the main focus of it was to draw the
attention of the concerned authority of the country... But one thing was
distinctly different this year. The homosexuals or the gays marched openly.
This event was not the celebration of death of any kind, but it was the
celebration of the birth of a new cultural voice... The way the gays have
made their entry to the public domains of Nepal can be taken as the role
model for other cultural voices to follow. Nepal is a country of great
cultures which have always given some space to the new voice. First, people
who noticed this event questioned themselves — what should be their response
to the homosexuals? Should we highlight their plea through the different
channels of media? Answers were not unanimous..."

Need
for sexual minorities to find their voices (Must Scroll. Alternate
link): "BDS is in contact with more than 12,000 gays in Kathmandu and
other areas in Nepal. The society, through its outreach programmes, is
in contact with 10 to 12 lesbians each day in its 18 sites in Kathmandu.
Due to the lack of funding and resources we haven’t been able to reach
to everyone," said Pant. "There are many women who are still uncomfortable
with saying they are lesbians and it is necessary to bring their voices
out." Pant says that another reason for lesbians lagging behind in self-recognition
is the restriction on freedom of movement to women. "Men can attend meetings,
and give their time while it is hard for women," said Pant. But, this is
slowly changing. "Homosexual women are now thinking of opening a society
of their own," said Pant. It is perhaps, the progress of gays in the past
few months, that have encouraged lesbians to follow suit for social acceptance.
Pant adds that soon a society for lesbians, like BDS, will be established.
"Women need to come into the open for protection of public health," said
writer Thapa. The spreading of sexually-transmitted diseases like AIDS
amongst homosexuals has made this even more important, she adds. "Since,
homosexuals have sexual relationships with their partners in secret, often
without protection, they need to be educated on safe sex," said Sapana
Pradhan Malla, renowned advocate. Moreover, the law does not recognise
homosexuals. "They need to be able to live without having to bear sexual,
physical and emotional abuse," added Malla."

Lesbianism?
Still taboo and scary in Nepal (Alternate
link): " Katmandu: In a society where homosexual men are looked down
upon, it is even more difficult for lesbians to wear their "lesbianism"
on their duppattas. Their stories remain untold and their issues totally
ignored-even by those ardent believers in incessant barking for common
good... Another pair Sheetal Pradhan and Gauri Sharma who have known
each other for two years say that they do not intend to tell their parents
about their affair. "We won't get married to men," they said in unison.
They live with their parents and go to each other's house like any other
normal friends and "stay overnight." There are many lesbians in Kathmandu
and throughout the country but they are afraid to openly admit their preference.
"We should all come forward and work for the welfare and protection of
lesbians," said Sushila. To support lesbians and create awareness among
them, Blue Diamond Society (BDS) has recently started a Lesbian Support
Group. "The support group has started its work and plans to identify lesbians
and their problems and create a broader network," said Sunil Babu Pant,
director at BDS. According to him, around 40 lesbians in Kathmandu are
in contact with BDS and most of them refuse to come to the office."

Lesbian
couple's plea to live together (Must Scroll): "Two lesbians from
Hetauda have filed an appeal to the police in Kathmandu seeking security
and freedom to remain single, published reports said Wednesday. Meera's
family has been forcing her to get married to a man and was about to forcibly
get her formally engaged to the man living outside Kathmandu, according
to Blue Diamond Society (BDS). The couple Radha and Meera contacted the
Blue Diamond Society for help, the reports said. The BDS, as it says, is
a private organisation working for the rights of homosexuals (nepalnews.com
mr Dec 17, 2003).

Nepali
Lesbian Couple Punished: "On March 27 [2000], Maya T., 18, and
Indira R., 17 were handed over to police of the Pathari Village Development
Committee by their relatives as neighbors jeered the couple. According
to IGLHRC, "At the station, the two reportedly told police, 'No one will
separate us and no one will stop us from loving each other.' They were
held for two days and released without charges on the condition they not
see each other again. Their families have kept them apart since. But IGLHRC
says news of the relationship continues to rile neighbors and the women's
"lives may be in danger.""

Coming
Out: (Nepali Times: Alternate Link) "The Blue Diamond Society has had to struggle
against taboos and mores. The first attempt at registering the society
was denied because the officials objected to the very concept of homosexuality.
Pant was pressurised to change the organisation’s objective into “correcting
homosexual behaviour” but finally found a loophole that allowed him to
work in the area of male health. That was the easy part. He was then faced
with the challenge of coaxing MSMs to join the society because they were
afraid of being targetted by homophobes. The society estimates that about
95 percent of MSMs are forced into heterosexual marriages by their families
who don’t want scandals. The homosexuals suffer from depression, low self-esteem
and social ostracisation. “We are forced to lead a split life—different
on the inside from what we show on the outside,” he says. Pant’s own family
and friends have been “incredibly” supportive of his work, but he knows
this is rare. The society slowly gained their trust over the years. This
Friday, they are holding a fashion show and beauty pageant. Participants
are metas and tas (those who assume female roles and their male partners)
who are intent on carving out a social space for themselves. Pant’s other
concern is the plight of women who are attracted to members of their own
sex. He wonders, “If Nepali men who enjoy greater freedom, decision making
and mobility are tormented so much for their sexual preferences, how much
more horrendous the situation must be for women!”"

Blue
Diamond Society (BDS): "Nepal's only organization for sexual minorities,
is transforming the lives of of sexual minorities including Meta, Dohori,
Ta, Gay, Bisexual, lesbian, Hijra, Singaru, Fulumulu, Kothi, Kotha, Strian,
Maugia, Panthi and manymore in Nepal. The Blue Diamond Society (BDS) was
founded in 2001 in an effort to address the needs of sexual minorities.
BDS is a community-based sexual health, HIV/AIDS, advocacy services for
local networks of sexual minorities in Nepal. It provides a drop-in center
(DIC), outreach work and clinical referrals for its constituents." - Press
Release: "Last night {August 9, 2004] around 22:30 PM 39 members of
Blue Diamond Society were haphazardly arrested and taken to Hanuman Dhoka
Police Station, center of investigation in the heart of Kathmandu. They
have been detained till now without food and have been treated inhumanly
without having any faults and we, Blue Diamond Society are very concerned."
“An attempted Murder of a Meti [cross dressing male] in Kathmandu.” - Activism
Photo gallery. - Proposal
would have asked all nations to end anti-gay discrimination: "Sumil
Pant was on a mission to get to Geneva and nothing was going to stop him.
The founder of the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s sole gay and lesbian advocacy
group, had stories to tell from his country, stories about gay men blackmailed
by police and lesbians tortured into marriage. So he boarded a plane in
Kathmandu on April 3 [2004] bound for the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights to push for passage of the “United Nations Resolution on Sexual
Orientation,”..." - Google Search for Information related to "Blue
Diamond Society".

Blue Diamond in Kathmandu:
Over the last eighteen months, as night falls, Sunil and his colleagues
have regularly visited Ratna Park in the centre of Kathmandu, Nepal.
They are there not to take the evening air - which is frequently
heavily polluted in the Himalayan valley in which it nestles - but to
talk to some of the shadowy figures loitering there. They're all men,
and they're all looking for one thing - sex. Some are there to buy it,
some are there to sell it and some are offering with no payment
involved. But they all have one thing in common - they are sexually
active with other men in a culture that strongly disapproves of their
behaviour. And Ratna Park is one of the few places where they can find
each other, particularly if they are young and poor... Many of the sex
workers are very young, not necessarily homosexual, but selling sex to
keep themselves and sometimes their families alive. As with all the men
there, they are at the mercy of the police, thieves and blackmailers
who try to attack, rob or cheat them, sometimes following them home,
threatening them, asking for "gifts" of money or their watch, and
sometimes beating them... Lately the outreach workers have been
focusing on blackmailer and police harassment, collecting information
and advising the men how to be careful and help each other, show unity
if anything happens. If a blackmailer or policeman is seen causing a
problem, everyone runs to help the man under threat. The tactic is
beginning to work and the police and others are more likely to go for
men who have not come in contact with Blue Diamond. That change is
proof for the outreach workers that they are on the right track, even
though, as Sunil says "what we are doing is a piece of sand in the
ocean." Their goal is to help form a community and through that
community "ensure that everyone is aware of their right to practise
safer sex". But they need more volunteers and more money to cover their
expenses when the current grant runs out. They are appealing to new
donors, but as yet have had no reply. If you want to help, contact
Sunil and see what you can do...

Rapid Ethnography of Male to Male Sexuality and Sexual Health (2001):The study employed a community-based research strategy, using field
researchers from the Blue Diamond Society, a nascent community group
for men who have sex with men. ..The
principal findings of the research are: No distinction is made between
men who only have sex with men and men who only have sex with women.
Many men said they have sex with men and women, with a high rate of men
being married. Little knowledge of HIV/AIDS exists. Safer sex knowledge
was limited. Commercial sex between men takes places in a variety of
ways, including street-based sex workers. Full Report (PDF Download):
Men who have sex with men are generally a hidden population in Nepal
and there is little understanding of the social, cultural and
behavioral dynamics of their lives as they may relate to HIV
transmission and other aspects of sexual health. Whilst community based
research elsewhere in South Asia has begun to shed some light on
hitherto hidden aspects of male-to-male sexuality, Nepal remains
largely unexplored in respect to these concerns. A recent review of
current knowledge on HIV epidemiology in Nepal was able to find only
one reference to male-to-male sex (Furber, Newell, and Lubben –
forthcoming)... Blackmail, extortion, the threat of exposure and
coerced sex is a common experience for many men who have sex with men
and sex in Kathmandu. For some men forced sex often occurs in the
context of their work. Due to a lack of other employment options many
men who have sex with men sell sex on the street or in nightclubs and
dance bars. All of these circumstances put men who have sex with men in
vulnerable sexual situations, increasing their risk of exposure to HIV
and other STI’s... The popular discourses framing male-to-male sexual
life in Kathmandu bear a marked similarity to those documented
elsewhere in South Asia. The most visible population of men who have
sex with men (and the most strongly represented in this research) are
the meti, these being akin to the kothis who have been described in
literature on male-to-male sexuality in India and Bangladesh (Khan
1996, Dowsett 1999). The popular cultural archetype for meti is that
they orient their sexual subjectivity around a feminine sensibility and
an attraction towards masculine, nominally ‘heterosexual’ men, who are
termed ta within meti argot. In certain social contexts such as
cruising areas metis often adopt female names and refer to each other
using feminine pronouns, although these are used interchangeably with
meti’s given male names. On certain occasions (such as parties or
whilst working as dancers) some meti wear female attire, often in an
exaggerated form involving heavy facial make up and brightly colored
clothing. However this attribute is not common to all meti. At other
times metis wear conventionally masculine clothes and may appear as
more ‘conventional’ men, at least to those who are uninitiated into
their sexual culture.,, Publicly most meti purport that they do not
have sexual relationships with other meti, as this would be
incompatible within the gendered framework around which they construct
their sexuality... The popular archetype of ta refers to the
stereotypical sexual partners of metis. Ta are akin to the parikh or
panthi documented elsewhere in South Asia and are conceptualized as
conventionally masculine men, either because they do not display
feminine characteristics and do socialise with meti or because of there
perceived preference to take the penetrative role in anal sex... The
category of dohori is a Nepali equivalent to the duplis or double
deckers found elsewhere in South Asia. The term, translated as ‘both
ways,’ is used to refer to men who are perceived to or identify
themselves as enjoying both insertive and receptive anal sex... Finally
it should be noted that the word gay is used by some men who have sex
with men in Kathmandu. The number of gay identified men in Kathmandu,
who use this term as their primary signifier of sexual subjectivity, is
a minority, generally comprising those men who have had exposure to
western education...

Pant SB (Blue Diamond Society, 2006). MSM and HIV/AIDS in Nepal. For The Risks and Responsibilities International Consultation on Male Sexual Health and HIVC in Asia and the Pacific. PDF Download.Content/Download Page:
"More than 57% of the MSW and 8% MSM have faced some kind of violence
in the past 12 months. - More than 37% MSW and 3% MSM were raped and
beaten in the last 12 months. - 5% HIV prevalence amongst MSW and 4%
amongst MSM in Kathmandu valley. - Metis and gay men have been
subjected to harassment, humiliation and abuse by the police, including
verbal, physical, and sexual assault, including rape..."

Public
Hearing on human rights and sexual orientation (March 29, 2004.
Must Scroll): "We are a group of Sexual Minorities who have been marginalized
in Nepalese community. From the beginning we’ve been discriminated against
and stigmatized not only by the Society but also from our own friends and
families. We’ve been disgraced time and time again because there’s no law
made to protect us or to give us our rights. Due to our behavior we have
faced harassment, torture, rape, verbally abuse, humiliation and blackmail.
All this has resulted in sexual minorities (gay men, lesbians, bisexuals,
transgendered and transvestites) being affected both mentally and physically,
even those of us who have not faced such harsh situations directly. The
problems don’t stop here: we’re also being denied our rights to education
and receiving basic respect and dignified treatment from other people living
in the society..."

Sunil
Pant, director of Nepal’s only organisation for men who have sex with men,
speaks to Gus Cairns about promoting safe sex in the mountain kingdom:
"Life in the shadows: At Ratna you find metas, men who dress and
act feminine to attract the tas, johns, masculine guys who like boys. But
being a meta in Nepal is a part-time occupation. Here family life is all
and there is little cultural sanction for a transsexual way of life that
you will find in say Thailand. Ratna Park cruisers, butch and femme alike,
are largely married men, living shadow lives away from the glare of the
street lamps. Others are younger, and selling sex, often as the only way
to keep their families together, sometimes when parents have died (average
life expectancy is 57). And, as Sunil soon discovered, they didn’t
know anything about safer sex and HIV, and were taking it home to their
wives... But in the last two years, Blue Diamond (blue because it’s the
gay colour in Belarus, and diamond, a Buddhist symbol of the enlightened
heart) has had queries from 10,000 men. They now run a full programme of
events, ranging from regular Saturday movies on gay issues (hence the video
shopping) to a free STD clinic. The clinic, a partnership with FHI, Red
Cross and the US HIV peer-led complementary therapy organisation FIAR,
has given out 23,000 condoms. There are regular discussion groups, and
basic education and computer training... Gay life in Nepal is still dangerous.
As well as the family shame, there is the constant threat of violence and
blackmail from the police, or men who pretend to be police. But the metas
have started hitting back... “ We’re a grain of sand in the ocean”, Sunil
says. “The security situation, with Maoist guerrillas ruling parts of the
country, makes it impossible for men to come in from other areas. It’s
even dangerous to travel around town outside daylight hours.” As if founding
Nepal’s first gay group was not enough, Sunil has set up an orphanage in
his native village for children orphaned by the civil war, for the children
of guerrillas and security officers. “I want the next generation to grow
up to know each other”. Including, he might add, its gay men."

A
Diamond in the Himalayas: Gays find a Voice in Nepal (PDF
Download, Trikone Magazine, June 2003): "At the 2002 International
Lesbian and Gay Associations meet in Mumbai, there were delegates from
all over Asia. But few attracted as much attention as one young man. It
was not just because he was a handsome man but also because he offered
us a window into a world that many of us knew nothing about—Nepal!... Being
gay
I knew about cruising spacesin Nepal. But I found there was
nothing else there—no support for men who had sex with men, no groups,
nothing. Instead there was a lot of violence against gay men, family pressure
to get married and leading double lives... After six months of doing this
we decided to form a group... How big is the office? We have a staff of
23 now. We do all kinds of things like developing a hotline and a drop-in
center. On Fridays we will have a gay movie. We have an STD clinic and
have developed leaflets in local languages in condom usage for MSM sex...
Now people are getting more aware. They know that unless you are caught
penetrating no one can do anything to you. But once I saw the policeman
had pulled out his dick and trapped a guy. I caught them and said that
was entrapment. I tell the guys not to be victims and just pay the money.
Instead they should scream loudly and ask for help. Otherwise it is terrible.
Sometimes these “police” would follow the guy home and then blackmail them.
Guys would end up giving them their TV, VCR and refrigerator... But what
has the press been like on these issues? It can be very homophobic. I remember
three years ago some guys were taken by the police from a disco. They were
made to put on drag and makeup in the morning and asked to walk on the
streets..."

Gay
and happy (by Vikash Pradhan, April, 2003: vikash@wavemag.com.np):"Starting
off with a lot of prejudices clouding my mind, I was quite apprehensive
about the appointment. We met in a small room at the Blue Diamond Society
office. I felt uneasy, and out of place, sitting surrounded by six strangers,
all of them gay. In the midst of Bhakta, Sujan, Ramesh, Dipak Shrish, and
Saphil at a round table, my initial fear and uneasiness vanished as our
conversation progressed. They were perfectly comfortable about their sexuality.
The term gay does not aptly define the population of Nepali men who have
sexual relations with members of their own sex. In Nepal, it is common
for men like Sujan and Saphil to have sexual relations with women. In fact,
there are many cases where ‘homosexual’ men are married and with children.
A better term would be Males having Sex with Males (MSM). In our society
where the subject of sex is taboo, there is a stifling silence when it
comes to MSMs. We still languish under the misconception that there are
no Nepali homosexuals and the rare few we have accepted to be homosexuals
are dismissed as freaks of nature.The legal stand towards MSM is more outrageous
than our social indifference to the subject. Our earliest written law,
framed during the reign of the Ranas and influenced by British Colonial
Laws, explicitly states that anal intercourse is a punishable offence.
The current law defines and categorises it as an unnatural ‘animal act’.
Ironically, masturbation is judged similarly... There are an odd few MSMs
who are open about their status, most of whom belong to affluent families.
It is with their families’ stoic support that these men proudly take a
stand for themselves. But the vast majority still remains in the closet
and their families remain ignorant about their sexual preference. This
is the sad reality of an MSM: a disconnected existence and the absence
of family support. Like in most families, parents of MSMs are unaware of
their children’s activities. As a result of which, many MSMs fall into
forced matrimony. MSMs, married or not, lead dual lives – one inside the
home, as the male figure be it husband or son, and the other amongst fellow
MSMs, where they feel comfortable and at ease... We have a large number
of MSMs in our midst. BDS is already in contact with over 8000 MSMs. However,
the actual figure is much higher since many refuse to admit their status.
Another section that goes unaccounted is the migrant workers amongst whom
there is a high incidence of MSM.... The few people I was lucky to meet
and interact with represented a very small percentage of the valley’s MSM
population but I found them gay and happy about their status. They have
accepted their sexual preferences and behaviour. We are the one’s who haven’t.
Isn’t it time we did?"

Untold
Stories Show Growing HIV/AIDS Risks (January 10, 2003): "Seated
in the pleasant confines of the Blue Diamond Society here in the Nepali
capital, Sunil Panta and his peers voice their frustrations and fears in
a society that largely views Kathmandu's gay community as invisible, freakish,
or abnormal. They talk about human rights abuse - verbal and physical abuse
- rape, torture, blackmail, family apathy and denial, and the individual
fear of coming out of the closet. When Sunil frequented cruising sites
in and around Kathmandu to seek like-minded individuals to found a support
society for homosexuals in 2000, he almost gave up... Sunil's story
is not among those heard in 'Kathmandu: Untold Stories', a film produced
by the United Nations Children's Fund that explores the role that society
plays in the growing spread of HIV/AIDS in this Himalayan country. But
the founder of Blue Diamond Society was instrumental in helping filmmakers
Subina Shrestha and Alex Gabbay put together a 26-minute documentary that
explores the underbelly of Kathmandu society. They interviewed friends,
friends of friends, and met with high-risk, often marginalised groups with
the help of the society, the drug rehabilitation centres Richmond Foundation
and Freedom Centre, and the Kathmandu-based Life Giving and Life Sustaining
Society (LALS), which works with intravenous drug users. " 'Kathmandu:
Untold Stories' is not really an HIV/AIDS awareness film in the proper
sense," says Shrestha, who conducted the research and wrote the script
for the film. "It's more about young people in the city who live secret
lives their families know nothing of or don't want to know about. As they
tell their stories, it becomes clear how complicated everything is. And
how young people are forced into dangerous situations that often expose
them to HIV/AIDS," Shrestha adds. One of the interviewees, 27 year-old
Kishore Pandey is a government employee, a happily married man who loves
his wife and has two children. But Pandey, in his own words, is living
a third kind of life. "What do I lack? Why shouldn't I have married? Nobody
in my family can tell that I am gay and I could not tell them. I didn't
even know myself. I came to know about it much later." ..."

Situation
Analysis of HIV/AIDS in Nepal (PDF
Download) (Download Page): Men who have sex with men (MSM):
"Although homosexuality is said to have existed for centuries in worldly
cultures, its open acceptance is still lacking. Nepal may not be an exception
to this phenomenon. People of various backgrounds are engaging in same
sex relationships in Nepal, most particularly males as noted by various
professionals. Some are voluntarily engaging in same sex relationships
and committing to sexual acts while others, specifically young boys (i.e.
street children) are forced into it. Men who have sex with men are generally
perceived to be not at a high risk because there are social sanctions against
homosexuality. Situation analysis has highlighted a gap between perception
and reality in this issue. Homosexuality is, as stated above, persistent
in Nepal. Men are either voluntarily having sex with other men, or forcing
little boys (or men) to provide them sexual pleasure (FG, FV). Some are
already infected with HIV/AIDS, others with STDs and along with these factors,
their sexual behavior with multiple partners or bi-sexual relationships
puts them at a risk of HIV infection... Male sex workers are generally
unheard of in Nepali popular culture. There is a general disbelief that
they do exist. There is a gap in perception and reality on this issue.
There are increasing numbers of male sex workers committing to sexual acts
with multiple partners, both women and men. This undoubtedly makes them
prone to HIV infection. While all of these men engaging in some form of
exploited "homosexual" acts may be exposed to general public awareness
but because of stigmatization and minimal access to other institutions,
they are not necessarily able to protect themselves."

Pilot
Condom Distribution Program: Nepal: The FIAR-Blue Diamond Project:
"FIAR has been working with the Blue Diamond Society of Kathmandu, Nepal
and its director Sunil Babu Pant. FIAR has so far supplied over 45,000
condoms to the program along with 3,500 sachets of water-based lubricant.
Mr. Pant, working with Family Health International (FHI), USAID, UNAIDS
and other organizations is developing the distribution and safer sex education
program Because of this program, FHI now has a plank in its proposed multi-million
dollar safer sex/STD campaign for Nepal that includes men who have sex
with men (MSM). Until the FIAR-Blue Diamond project was developed, the
issue of MSM in Nepal had been completely ignored..."

Homosexuality
- Natural or decadent (3rd editorial) - By Bimal Rawal: In
Kathmandu, homosexuality is common but discreet and underground. Upon investigation
the author discovered a place where homosexuals go "cruising" to pick up
partners. Group of homosexuals meet but they are not organised and extremely
afraid of the society... For a lesbian girl life can be extremely traumatic
- years ago a local paper published an article about two girls who committed
suicide because they did not want to be separated - perhaps they were lesbian
girls but the society did not give them a chance to live their lives the
way they wanted to.

Homosexuality
in Nepal?? N/A "I am glad TND and SCN are beginning to talk about
homosexuality in Nepal. Few points have stood out: The paucity of any data
of any studies taken and the confusion of the term in the Nepali context.
Because data from scientific or even anthropological studies are missing(after
all anthro are too busy contructing a romantic notion of pre-modern Nepal
of noble savages like the Gurungs and Sherpas that they not interested
in finding modern social "diseases" in their Shangri-la) we have some anecdotal
info volunteered. These anecdotal info lead to the confusion of definition
of homosexuality in nepal. If homosexuality is defined as same-sex sexual
and social relationship only, I think there is plenty of that going on
in nepal, among boarding schools, chowks, rodi-ghars, monks, army, and
other same-sex social institutions where access to partners of other sex.
" (!994 Letter to The nepal Digest)

Homosexuality
in Nepal: (Must Scroll, 1994) "I cannot claim any sort of expertise on the subject
but can offer certain anecdotal comments regarding homosexual activity
in Nepal that I've gathered over several years of living here. So, for
what it's worth... An American homosexual friend of mine here in Kathmandu
has had a couple of Nepali boyfriends and tells me that there is a great
deal of activity among men. He claims that his lovers have told him that
perhaps 80% of Nepali men have had some sort of homosexual experience by
the time they reach age 18. Given the cultural restrictions in Nepal which
prohibit heterosexual contact prior to marraige, this is perhaps not so
unusual (I believe this phenomenon is evidenced in many Muslim cultures
as well). I suppose one could question whether this is actually "homosexuality"
in any sort of meaningful sense, or rather just adolescent experimentation
and making the best of a difficult situation. However, homosexual activity
among adult males does not seem to be altogether uncommon. On the other
hand, I would venture a guess that homosexual activity among adult women
in Nepal is extremely rare. My wife has asked some of her closest Nepali
friends about it and the mere CONCEPT just blew their minds! None of them
had ever known or heard of a lesbian Nepali woman and some refused to believe
that lesbianism existed ANYWHERE! But, like I say, my information is anecdotal.
(!994 Letter to The nepal Digest)

In Sri Lanka, sexual orientation puts gays at risk:
In her native Sri Lanka, a land of sandy beaches licked by the
emerald-hued waters of the Indian Ocean, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera almost
lost her wrestling match with homosexuality when she attempted suicide
in her teens. With no one to turn to in a country that considers
homosexuality a criminal offence, death seemed the better alternative.
Attempting suicide, however, wound up saving her...This year, Flamer-Caldera, 51, will march at the head of Toronto's
Pride Parade as its international grand marshal, to underscore queer
rights around the world.

Sri
Lankan Coming to Terms with Gays-Group: (Alternate Linkl) ABC News, 05/23/2001 10:50 am ET . Prejudice runs deep but
prudish Sri Lanka is slowly coming to terms with homosexual behavior, the
country's tiny gay rights movement said on Wednesday. "We've come a long
way. We are proud to say that we've come through a horrible, inhuman, indecent,
vicious period," said Sherman de Rose, executive director of Companions
on a Journey..." - Lanka
lesbians find a new home.

Haven
in Sri Lanka for gay men and women: "I am very much shocked and
I think the entire community is because we were trying to figure out why
if Gay rights are also part of human rights, and if all the U-N agencies
who are supporting these initiatives. For example the HIV projects
are being funded mainly by the U-N agencies, and not a single mention of
homosexual programmes or activities are designed to meet the needs of homosexual
men and women in this country. Whereas they have gone to the extent of
including beach boys and prostitutes into their programmes. But gay men
are neglected... The law is being misused and as far as we are concerned,
as far as it has gone about to our notice, the police officers, they are
blackmailing gay and lesbians, they are being beaten up in the streets,
in meeting places, the toilets, the beaches. And also some of them are
being thrown out of their homes. And we have clear evidence of that. Some
of them have been thrown out of their workplaces."

Sri
Lanka Press Council Praises Anti-Gay Violence: "Human rights advocates
and women's groups reacted furiously to praise the Sri Lankan Press Council
lavished on an article urging that convicted rapists should be unleashed
on lesbians and branding lesbianism an act of sadism." - Lesbian
Activism in Sri Lanka: "The stigma associated with being lesbian or
gay in Sri Lanka can sometimes spill over into physical, emotional, mental,
and sexual violence against individuals." - Sri
Lanka's Press Council Abomination. - Sri Lanka gay group denounces attacks:
An association representing the gay and lesbian community in Sri Lanka
says its members have been subjected to horrible, inhuman, indecent and
vicious treatment in the five years since it was established. The
organisation, known as Companions on a Journey, has just won an
international award for its work and has begun to assist the Sri Lankan
Government in its Aids awareness work...

You
And AIDS: Sri Lanka:
"Although the number of cases reported falls
short of the projections made some years ago, the number of new
infections,
reported from January 1, 98 to December 1, 1998, were 52. The number
was
29 over the same period during the previous year. The reason for this
substantial
increase might be because of improved reporting. The reported
seroprevalence
of 37 per 100, 000 (Sept.'98) is probably lower than the actual
prevalence.
Infection is mainly heterosexual (84%), followed by homosexual
transmission
(8%). Update: "The first case of HIV infection was reported in 1986 and
the cumulative total reported at the end of 2004 was 614. Of these 363
were male and 251 were female. The reported number of deaths due to
AIDS was 131 as of end 2004...- Country Report: HIV/AIDS. - Sri Lanka hosts Asia/Pacific HIV conference. -Low AIDS figures despite years of conflict. - Sri Lanka's low official Aids stats are questioned.

Country Report, Sri Lanka, 2006 (PDF Download):
National Survey on Emerging Issues among Adolescents in Sri Lanka:
18.2% of in-school boys aged 14-19 reported “homosexual relations”
(N=4664). 13.0% of out-of-school boys aged 15-19 reported “homosexual
relations” (N=5042). Results or other studies given. MSM identity
is complex because MSM refers to behaviour: some gay men marry due to
social and cultural pressure. there are MSM who consider themselves
straight but have sex with men. MSM face harassment from law
enforcement in cruising areas as well as extortion of money and forced
sex; violence against MSM impacts negatively on their sexual and
emotional health. Poverty and exposure to sexual violence leads men to
work as sex workers...

Perera B, Reece M (2006). Sexual behavior of young adults in Sri Lanka: Implications for HIV prevention. AIDS Care, 18(5): 497-500 (Abstract).
"Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 3,134 higher
secondary school (grades 12 and 13) students between the ages of 1820
in six geographically representative districts of Sri Lanka...
Homosexual relationships of the participants were not examined
extensively in this study, but data on some aspects of same gendered
sexual relationships were collected. Twenty female students (1.1%) and
138 (10%) male students reported that they had a same gendered partner
at the time of the study (x2 (1, 3134)/126.1, pB/0.001). With regard
to past sexual experiences, less than 1% of female students (n/14),
but 13.1% of male students (n/180) reported that they had engaged in
oral sex with a same gender partner (x2 (1, 3134)/199.1, pB/ 0.01).
About 20% (n/279) of male students reported having had inter-femoral
sex with a male parter." It is also reported that 17.7% of males (age =
17), 21.7% of males (age = 18) and 22.9% of males (age = 19) reported
having experienced anal sex with at leat one other male.

Miller J (2002). Violence and Coercion in Sri Lanka's Commercial Sex Industry: Intersections of Gender, Sexuality, Culture, and the Law.Violence Against Women, 8(9): 1044-1073 (Abstract):
"The nachchi interviewed for the project provided a somewhat different
picture of their entrée into commercial sex. Most notable for
them was the early onset of sexual behavior as children with older boys
or adult men. Nearly half of the nachchi were first introduced to sex
when they were younger than the age of 10, and the average age for the
sample of nachchi was 11. Nearly two thirds were first sexually abused
by an adult or youngmanat least 10 years their senior.16 Many of the
nachchi described being like girlsaschildr en and said that othersr
esponded to them as such. For example, Romesh said, “From a small age
onwards I did not like to act like a boy. . . . In my heart I’m like a
girl. A sI was growing up, everybody started calling me nangi, chutie
[terms of endearment for girls].” As they grew older, they were singled
out by older boysand men and coerced or enticed into sexual activities.
In most cases, nachchi’s early sexual activities led them to drift into
commercial sex, initially informally. In a few cases, they described
men in the community offering the small enticement of a few rupees; in
other cases, they came to meet other nachchi as teenagers and learned
that they could earn money for selling their sexual services. Only two
nachchi described initially being pimped by a friend or boyfriend, and
two initially earned money for the family as children through informal
sexual exchanges. Most at least initially found selling sex ameans of
meeting sexual partners and exploring their sexuality; however, they
ultimately described selling sex for economic purposes rather than for
pleasure... Nachchi sex workers... faced widespread violence not just
when they were working but whenever they were in public and in their
communities as well. The stigma they faced was not generated by the
fact that they were selling sex but because they are nachchi. As one
nachchi put it, “They say we are an insult to male kind.” ... Nachchi
also reported widespread harassment and abuse by the police, but unlike
women, they were rarely charged and produced to the courts. Instead,
they were robbed and often forced to provide sexual services..." Some
nachchi experiences: "Somebody would come in a car, some thugs would
come and drag usand go. They beat and beat usand they form queues[poling daanawa,
i.e., gang rape]. They torment a lot. They say they will cut the mouth,
will cut that [penis], tell they will kill, show knives. So lots of
things like that we have faced... Two from the army got me in a
vehicle. So because it was army, I did not fear. After I got in, they
turned into a corner and told me to stay. When I was sucking, he said,
“Don’t go like that, I want the backside.” So I said, “I have not been
with anybody that way.” WhenI said I can’t stay like that, by force he
did tome. . . . Inmylife, I may have faced a lot of suffering but have
not borne such pain as that. I screamed, and the other one held my
mouth. Then the other one also stayed [raped me]."

It’s
about our lives - A queer Anthology Project:
"Companions on a journey are in the process of compiling and publishing
an anthology of queer writings from Sri Lanka. Submissions are now accepted
for this anthology, of which the main aim is attempting to put together
writings on queer sexuality from life based experiences as well as conceptual
viewpoints on the subject.Once published this anthology will serve as a
testimony of everyday personal and political struggles of gay/lesbian/transgendered,
bi-sexual people of Sri Lankan society. It could also serve as a personal
reflection on leading a queer life in Sri Lanka, which can be construed
as a daily political resistance of a personal kind..." - It's
about their lives: "Companions on a journey are in the process
of compiling and publishing an anthology of queer writings from Sri Lanka
with the aim of putting together writings on queer sexuality from life
based experiences as well as conceptual viewpoints on the subject... Companions
invite submissions on any topic, be it love, sex, heartbreak, homophobia,
marriage, family, social spaces, friendships, spirituality, resistance,
violence, coming out, betrayals, bitching or cat fighting, anything that
makes the writer's experience unique, as who he or she is, but request
that the artiste should deal with queerness and non-heterosexual orientation.
"There are no literary pretensions about this anthology project. Our aim
is to put out something on the bookshelves, which Sri Lankans can read,
relate and understand easily," says Sherman de Rosa, who adds that as there
are no pre-established accepted ways of writing, one does not need be a
previously published writer to submit entries." "Frankly, it doesn't
matter whether your writing is good or bad, has we know that there exists
lot of variations in between these two poles of being good or bad or even
being mediocre", Rosa explains. Submissions can be made by Sri Lankans
living in Sri Lanka or residing abroad and the artistes can be in English,
Sinhalese or Tamil. One can use a pseudonym or a pen name if he or she
is not comfortable in writing under his/her own name.

No
stray dogs - An empowerment programme in Sri Lanka: PDF
Download, Must scroll (Alternate Link). "The sex workers are very much concerned with
their personal empowerment. I was informed by the male sex workers who
attended a workshop organised by Companions on a Journey (a project aimed
at gays in Sri Lanka) of their concern of their own future. They raised
the issue of being rejected by their clients for a younger sex worker or
for one with ‘a better personality’. They insist on alternative skills
development training to achieve personal empowerment. I hope and believe
that this strategy will be addressed in all projects targeting sex workers.
As a lot of economically underprivileged members of the gay community in
Sri Lanka earn their living as male sex workers, we must pay attention
to their needs whilst designing programmes and include them in programme
designing as well as programme implementation processes."

Sri
Lanka - Demographic Characteristics of Adolescents: "Sexual behaviour.
School Principals had indicated that there are much reproductive health-related
behaviour among school adolescents such as adolescent love affairs, elopement,
premarital sex, premarital pregnancy, homosexual relationships, patronising
prostitutes, rape, abortion, suicides and addiction to smoking and drugs
(Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka)." - Climate
of denial leaves young people in the dark: "Athula says his mother
had discussed the dangers of same-sex relationships because so many homosexual
tourists came to Sri Lanka. But they had never discussed irresponsible
sexual behaviour."

Books
by Stephen Lock: "The use of the terms "gay" and "homosexual" as
they apply to the Tamil and Sinhalese is, as Selvadurai points out, problematic.
Same-sex behavior occurs, but within a cultural and community context.
The concept of "gay" is very much a Western concept. He explains that given
the Hindu and Muslim ethic pervading Sri Lanka, as well as Anglican influences
inherited from the Crown Colony era, heterosexual sex for single males
is generally unavailable. Many men, therefore, do engage in same-sex activity,
but this is often couched in strict gender roles. It is the passive or
receptive partner who is perceived as "the faggot," says Selvadurai, while
the insertive partner retains his masculinity and his heterosexual identity
and status."

Lube
for Sri Lanka: "In fact, a lot of gay and bisexual women organised
a conference in 1999 and they got some good press coverage about it but
following that there was some very damning letters to the editor who referred
to these women as jaded but jubilant jezebels. […] What that has done is
often bring out a lot of hostility, not necessarily from people on the
street, but in terms of some institutions, either the government or the
media, some very hostile things, which have been the result of further
violence and threats of violence against gay men and bisexual men […] in
the country. […]"

Rivers
K, and Aggleton P (1999). Adolescent Sexuality, Gender and the HIV Epidemic.
Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
Internet:
http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/gender/adolesce.htm: "While male-to-male sex exists in
every culture, the activities concerned are rarely understood as "homosexual"
still less as "gay" (McKenna, 1996). More likely than not, they will not
be widely talked about, or named only within local vernaculars often inaccessible
to outsiders (Aggleton, Khan and Parker, 1998). That said, in many countries
of the world a not insubstantial number of young men have their first sexual
experience with other men, and for some this may be the beginning of a
longer lasting bisexual behavioural repertoire. For example, 50 per cent
of male university students recently interviewed in Sri Lanka reported
that their first sexual experience had been with another man (Silva et
al, 1997), and there are well documented studies of behavioural bisexuality
among men in countries as diverse as the Philippines (Tan, 1996), India
(Khan, 1996), Morocco (Bourshaba et al, 1998), Brazil (Parker, 1996), the
Dominican Republic (de Moya and Garcia, 1996) and Peru (Cáceres,
1998). While it would be quite wrong to see male bisexuality as a purely
"adolescent" phenomenon or triggered by men's lack of access to women,
the restrictions many cultures place on socialisation between the sexes
may have an important role to play in facilitating this alternative means
of sexual expression."

PAKISTAN
- Gay Pakistan: 'less inhibited than West' (Alternate Link):
In this column a gay man in Pakistan talks about the advantages of
being gay there compared to the West. He prefers to remain anonymous...
I have come out to most of my family, with their loving support. I have
also come out to all my friends, and rarely meet anyone aggressively
hostile to gay individuals. I have lived with a lover independently
without anyone raising an eyebrow. I have attended gay parties more
uninhibited than any I have seen in the West. In fact, I cannot
remember a single occasion in almost 10 years that I have felt
threatened with regards to my sexuality in Pakistan. An entirely
unrepresentative experience to be sure, as far as the experience of a
majority of Pakistanis is concerned. But there is no representative
sample that I can think of... I would not for a moment suggest that it
is easy being gay in Pakistan... - First gay 'marriage' in Pakistan:
On hearing of the wedding, a tribal council told the pair to leave the
area or be killed for breaking religious and tribal "values and
ethics"... A local Urdu-language newspaper said the elder man, named as
Liaquat Ali, had taken a local boy called Markeen as "his male
bride"... - Man Sexually Assaulted in Pakistan After Refusing to Convert to Islam:
Lawyers in Pakistan are investigating a report that up to 30 men
tortured and gang-raped a young Christian man for refusing to convert
to Islam. - Hijiras Party On in Lahore, Pakistan. - Chapati Mystery » Eye on Queer Pakistan:

Gay pride rising in Pakistan:
Gay groups say their communities are doing well with subtle acceptance
from society. A gay man from Karachi said: "In a bizarre way
homosexuality is condemned but not opposed, there is an indulgence
here, a cultural ability to live and let live." - Open Secrets: Gay Life in Pakistan:
During my first trip to Pakistan in 2006, I found the country teeming
with homosexuals.... These were just few of the queer moments of my
Pakistan excursion. While returning back to Lahore on the Allama Iqbal
Express train, a Bahawalpur trader suddenly confessed in the midst of
our Musharraf conversations that he liked sleeping with boys! ...
Indeed it is difficult to conceive Pakistan as a place where
individuals could be free to celebrate sex, and different sexual
orientations. But that is what everyone seems to do... In fact, in the
conservative regions of North Western Frontier Province it is socially
acceptable for Pashtun men to take up young boys for sexual pleasure.
But don't rush to fancy the country as some liberal San Francisco
outpost where life is all about celebrating individual choices... - When She Speaks, He’s Breaking All of Islam’s Taboos:
In a country where publicly talking about sex is strictly off limits,
Mr. Saleem has managed not only to bring up the subject on his
prime-time television talk show — but to do so without stirring a
backlash from fundamentalist Islamic clerics. And he has done so as a
woman... Colorful and witty, Mr. Saleem is open about his own sexuality
and sprinkles his conversation with gender-bending phrases...

Alleged same-sex couple freed in Pakistan:
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of a transman
and his wife jailed in May for perjury. Female-to-male transsexual
Shumail Raj, 31, and his wife Shahzina Tariq, 24, were sent to jail
when a Lahore court ruled Raj was still biologically a woman despite
two surgeries... - Homosexuality in Pakistan:
"My life is a lie and I know it," the 24-year-old fine arts student
told IRIN. "But this is the reality of Pakistan and this is the reality
I have to live." For thousands of gay people in Pakistan today, that
reality is repeated again and again... Gay men living in the larger
cities such as Lahore, Karachi or the capital, Islamabad, fare slightly
better in the mildly more tolerant atmosphere of urban areas. Here they
enjoy higher levels of education and many hold well-paid professional
jobs. Those living in impoverished rural areas remain closeted together
fearing the extreme conservatism of their villages... - Gender Identity And Homophobia In Pakistan.

Gays
in Pakistan: (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link)
Open Secrets: In Pakistan, sex between men is strictly forbidden by law
and religion. But even in the most conservative regions, it's also
embedded in the society... Yet this is also the region of Pakistan where homosexuality
is most tolerated -- however quietly. Among the Pashtun majority, having
a young, attractive boyfriend is a symbol of prestige and wealth for affluent
middle-aged men. Indeed, Pashtun men often keep a young boy in their hujra,
the male room of the house that the wife rarely enters. The practice is
so common that there are various slang terms for the boyfriends in different
regional languages: larke (boy), warkai, alec. According to many people
interviewed in Peshawar, there's a strict code of behavior in these relationships.
The boy is always the passive partner in sex and has often been coerced
into the relationship; he is given food and clothes by his partner, and
is in many cases forbidden to leave the relationship or marry. (In theory,
the boys could marry when they're grown, but they are generally considered
damaged, and end up wandering the streets as outcasts.).. Sex between men
is also commonplace in Pakistan's gender-segregated madrassas, or religious
schools..."

Taboo
TV comes to Pakistan living rooms: (Alternate Link)
In South Asian cultures, where airing one's dirty laundry in public has
long been considered uncouth, open discussion of issues such as incest,
rape, women's rights, homosexuality and child abuse is taboo. But not
for "Drama Hour," which has covered divisive issues such as second
wives, divorce and marriage for love versus arranged marriages. Each
week viewers get an understanding-driven treatment of sensitive social
issues that, while often poorly filmed and acted out with over-the-top
melodrama (accompanied by unbelievably cheesy soundtracks), try to
promote a moderate, tolerant outlook. "It's all about exploring and
examining who we are and how we want to live," says Lahore social
worker Humaira Qureshi. "To move forward, we as an entire society have
to take a deep look inside at painful, unpleasant issues and decide
what we want for ourselves and our children."

The Prince is Gay:
I’m gay, have always been and probably will remain so. Yet, I did not
choose to be gay. When people, especially homophobic males, talk
disparagingly of gays or use slurs, I cannot understand it because it
is not a habit I acquired. My fascination for the male body goes a long
way back to Kindergarten. My foggy childhood memories are warm with
tender hugs from grown-up adult men. A naked thigh, chest or armpit
made my heart beat faster... Middle and lower-middle classes are more
relaxed and comfortable with homosexuality. The upper classes, paranoid
beyond description are most comfortable in their closets. The tragedy
is that even when they know about each other’s sexual orientation they
cannot talk about it openly... Suddenly there are new barriers between
us, which I cannot cross or perhaps I don’t want to cross. They mustn’t
know. They will never know. For them I am a grown up man now, no longer
Nira’s little boy. I am not sure even if they remember the warm
memories. Now I am their prince who will marry a princess someday.
Amen. No one will tell them. Their Prince is gay.

The Invisible Men: (Alternate Link)
I recall that when I was just nine years old, I fell in love with one
of my father’s colleagues I just loved being close to him. I remember
once he was repairing his car and his shirt was open I was mesmerized
by his hairy chest I stood there in awe for quite some time. He smiled
but was unaware that I was enormously attracted to his masculine
physique. During my school days I had two friends who shared similar
feelings about men. There was also a group of gay bashers who used to
call us 'homos'. I started liking the school team captain. That was
when I realized that I was different. Eventually I found more like
minded guys at university. We talked about men, their physiques, their
hairy chests, but never confessed our secret encounters It is
considered bad to have sex with a man especially if you are the
'bottom'...

Gay life in Pakistan(Alternate Link):
Being a gay you can always get sex in Pakistan. You can go to gay
spots, which are usually public parks, bus stops and restaurants etc.
You can pick guys from there or get picked by some one. Pakistani
police not often takes action against people practicing homosexuality
in private. What you can't do in Pakistan is to say loudly that you are
gay and you think that it is ok to be a gay. You can't talk about
religion and homosexuality, you should not feel proud of your sexual
orientation, you must remain careful when you are at public places and
so on....

Pakistan sitting on a ticking AIDS bomb:
While there is little documentation about the extent to which men
engage in sexual activity with other men in Pakistan, the limited
evidence available suggests that such activity does occur throughout
the country. Anecdotal evidence indicates that sexual activity
between men occurs relatively frequently in boys’ hostels and jails;
additionally, research suggests that sex between men is often practiced
among long distance truck drivers. Finally, there is a small but highly
mobile population of transvestites, transsexuals and eunuchs known as
the hijra, who are known to engage in unsafe sexual practices. Lahore
had an estimated 38,000 MSM in 2002. The MSM community is heterogeneous
and includes Hijras (biological males who are usually fully castrated),
Zenanas (transvestities who usually dress as women) and masseurs. Many
sell sex and have multiple sexual partners. - HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men in Pakistan.

To
Be Gay and Muslim by Heidi Dietrich: "He spent his early years
in Pakistan, where his only introduction to gays was the hijras: hermaphrodites
who dress in women's clothing and perform at weddings... Beyond the hijras,
gay relationships are kept in the closet in Pakistan... Durrani grew up
in Pakistan and came to the United States at age 22. He says that in Pakistan,
sex among men is common, but they don't label themselves as gay. As long
as the men marry and have children - fulfilling their duties -- they can
sleep around on the side Ghalib Dhalla explained that it depends on who
is administering the sexual act. "If I get blown, I'm not gay," Dhalla
said." -

Community
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections
in a Rural District of Pakistan: "While health care providers believed
that the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections is high, the community
did not consider themselves at risk. The community believed that these
diseases are a problem among a sub-population of male adolescents, especially
those who have homosexual relations. However, due to social norms, they
rarely discussed such health problems with other family members or elders...
Risk groups for sexually transmitted infections include women of
childbearing age, homosexuals and heterosexuals practising unsafe sex and
prison inmates... Male respondents, on the other hand, revealed that STIs
might probably be more common in younger males, mostly among those who
were having homosexual contacts. Informants perceived that homosexuality
among teenage boys was common... While male community members did point
to homosexuality being common among teenage boys, they could not envisage
a link between homosexuality and STIs other than AIDS. At the same time,
it needs to be noted that in the present cultural context boys rarely share
their reproductive health problems with their elders.

Homosexual
Immigration / Lesbian and Gay Immigrants are Changing New York (Alternate Link): "Saeed Rahman remembers being "mystified by how the bar scene worked" when
he arrived from Pakistan in 1991. "And dating," he says, "is still a mystery
to me." Back home, "you become friends with someone and move on from there.
Here you experience sexual tension as a prelude to getting into bed together."
Leaping into the bars can also have devastating effects for those not familiar
with HIV prevention, and much organizing among gay immigrants began when
HIV educators started to develop culturally specific safer-sex materials
for communities that feared the INS as much as the virus itself. While
the INS won't act against people with HIV who are already here legally,
the U.S. refuses entry to those who are positive, and denies permanent
residency to them."

Land
of the free: my perspective: " My ethnic group, the Baluch, inhabit
southwest Pakistan and parts of Iran and Afghanistan. In my culture, being
exclusively or passively gay makes a man a social outcast. A Baluchi saying
goes, "For a man everything is all right, other than being a thief or gay,"
meaning he takes the passive role in anal sex. Interestingly, being quietly
bisexual--as long as a man takes the active sex role--is OK. Many Pakistani
males have sex with other men. Yet Pakistan is one of the nine countries
of the world where a man may be sentenced to death for gay sex. I knew
I was gay since I was a teenager and suffered in silence for 25 years..."

Javed
Iqbal: Chains: "It was there, the twice-divorced father of two
would ater claim, that he collected teenage boys whom he took to his three-room
flat on Ravi Road to work as his servants. Such arrangements are
not ncommon in the subcontinent. Although the Koran strictly forbids homosexual
relations and is even stricter when it comes to pedophilia, many older
men regularly take young boys to be their lovers and servants. In
fact, in places like the Northwest frontier provinces of Pakistan, not far
from Lahore, such relationships are “a matter of pride,” or a “symbol of
social status” for the lder men, according to a 1997 survey conducted by
Pakistan’s National Coalition for Child Rights. Poems have been written
about the love between a man and his servant. And while not usually discussed
in polite company, the practice is generally understood and even ccepted
in other parts of both Pakistan and Afghanistan as well, the survey found.

South Asian Review of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Pakistan Study Report 2001 (PDF Download):
Boy prostitutes can be found in all parts of Pakistan, despite the fact
that homosexuality is condemned by the society and Islam. Poverty, a
history of sexual abuse, family circumstances and friends are usually
the forces that lead many youngsters into the profession. Boy
prostitutes are commonly found in small wayside hotels and at bus
stands. The prime ages of male prostitutes are 15 to 25 years, but they
can also be as young as 13 years. Usually the male prostitutes work
under a pimp who brings in clients and pays for police protection... In
the NWFP, some wealthy and elderly people customarily keep young
attractive boys for sexual pleasure. In order to understand this
attitude, a study was commissioned by National Coalition for Child
Rights, Unicef-Peshawar and some NWFP CBOs in 1997. It revealed that
23% of the population in the [North West Frontier] province considers
pedophilia a matter of pride, 14% a symbol of status while another 11%
does not consider it bad...

South Asian Review of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Pakistan Study Report 2001 (PDF Download):
Another study reports us that certain public places are increasingly
becoming high risk for children, especially boys... Cinema halls,
especially those exhibiting pornographic films, have also been
identified in this report as places where child prostitution is
flourishing... A more serious but unexplored form of CSA is the
institutionalized prostitution of boys in the transport industry. Young
boys are often employed as assistants by truckers who then expect them
to provide them with sexual services. Several micro studies have also
shown that madrassas (places of religious education) are also
high-risk places for children. Older students and sometimes, even
instructors, have been accused of sexual excesses against children...
The sexual abuse of children has been found to be prevalent in jails.
This statement in a prison survey report, conducted by Dr. Semeen Alam
in 1993 on Punjab jails, has also been established through informal NGO
visits to jails all over the country. Children were found to be
sexually abused not only by older inmates but also by the
administrative staff..

Male Brothels: - South Asian Review of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Pakistan Study Report 2001 (PDF Download):
On 21 October 1998, police in a sting operation raided 56 male
prostitution dens and arrested 95 boy prostitutes from the area of Pir
Widhai, Rawalpindi, where more than 100 such brothels operate. Children
as young as eight years are brought here from underdeveloped and rural
areas of Kashmir, Gilgit, Skardu, Swat and Peshawar either through
kidnapping or trapping the runaway children. Their captors offer them
to clients staying at shabby hotels for a night. Arrested children told
reporters that their main clients were drivers, conductors and
passengers... Anyway, it can be said with authenticity that child
exploitation in tourism is an uncommon phenomenon in Pakistan, unlike
some of its neighbors like Sri Lanka...

Child Prostitution: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
Out of the approximately 12,000-14,000 street children in Karachi, 50
percent fall victim to commercial sex exploitation, a majority of them
being male children between 7-11 years of age (Reference Link). - Teenage prostitutes were victims of abuse:
Ninety-five per cent of the teenage prostitutes in Islamabad,
Rawalpindi and Lahore were sexually abused by their close relatives,
friends and teachers before they adopted the profession of granting
sexual favours for payment, a new study has found... The data show that
all respondents had some level of education. The organisation has used
a sample of 74 male prostitutes from the three cities while conducting
the qualitative and quantitative survey.

Pakistan:
Taking the Lid Off Child Prostitution (By Muddassir Rizvi, Sept.
22, 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency. Text also located on this web page "Human Trafficking"): Every evening after sunset,
17-year-old Gul waits for clients at the bustling Pir Wadhai bus station
in Rawalpindi, the twin city of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
There is hardly any day without a customer. His usual clients are travellers
changing buses at Rawalpindi or policemen and bus drivers. He may even
have three clients in one evening. ''I never approach anybody, they always
come to me. Then we go to one of the many hotels around the bus station,''
he says... 'I don't want to sell my body, but have no choice,'' says Gul,
who is the family's main bread-earner... Gul is one of the thousands of
Pakistani children who have been driven into prostitution by poverty, say
child rights groups... The first official admission of the existence of
child prostitution in Pakistan, the NCCWD survey came up with shocking
findings. Out of a sample of 233 children interviewed in the country's
four provinces, 159 admitted being engaged in commercial sex. Of these,
98 were boys, who found business near hotels, estaurants, video shops,
cinema halls and public parks."

Situational analysis report on prostitution of boys in Pakistan (Lahore & Peshawar)(PDF
Download):
"Forms of prostitution of boys: The prostitution of boys living on the
streets of Pakistan’s major cities mostly takes place at bus terminals
and in public parks... ‘Free floating’ Boys in Prostitution... Hijras
also known as the third sex, hijras are biological males but are
usually castrated. They consider themselves neither male or female, but
commonly have feminine names, dress as women, wear jewellery and
cosmetics, grow their hair long, and prefer to be referred to as ‘she’.
Traditionally hey are dancers, but some are also involved in
prostitution. Hijras usually live together in a single
community and follow a specific code governing their relationships with
each other and with their leader, or guru... The guru also teaches them
how to dance, attract and give pleasure to exploiters. Zenanas: Also biological males, zenanas are not castrated but consider themselves women inside men’s bodies. Zenanas
may or may not feminize their behaviour in public, but commonly wear
make up, women’s clothes and take on the female role during sex as the
penetrated partner. Chawas: Chawas are usually young men who
look and behave like ordinary males, and who indulge in sex with other
men. They will penetrate and be penetrated, orally and anally. There
are about 2,500 Chawas in the cruising areas of Lahore. Malishias: are professional massage workers although some also sell sex to men..." - Marginalised male sex workers vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.

Hate
Crimes: "I think we have to look at all the potential consequences
to the coalition that the U.S. is trying to build, and the way it's building
it," warns Surina Khan, executive director of the International Lesbian
and Gay Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC). Born in Pakistan and raised in
an Islamic family, Khan is more than familiar with the policies of some
of the hard-line Islamic countries the U.S. has bolstered and whose abuses
the U.S. has excused. While much of the Muslim world has condemned the
terror attacks, views Islamic terrorists and regimes like the Taliban as
having twisted the tenets of Islam, and may be more moderate toward women,
on the issue of homosexuality Islam is fairly uniform across the board,
as is much of Christianity. "Homophobia runs through mainstream, conservative,
and fundamentalist elements of Islam," says Khan. "It's a common thread
that runs through every Muslim nation."

Human Right struggle for LGs in A Religious Society (Muhammad Abdullah Mansoor, Alliance for Bright Citizens (NGO), Lahore, Pakistan)(Abstract, Must Scroll: PDF Download. Full text):
"Our
NGO is dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual those questioning their
sexual orientation or gender Identity. Its goal is to provide a safe
space and a forum for lgbt people to address issues of common Concern,
share ideas & experiences. I let you know that we live in religious
& and conservative society that is anti-gay. These activities are
punishable according to law as well as according to moral values in our
society. Our society does not tolerate us. Alliance for Bright Citizens
aims to support LG in reconciling their sexual orientation or gender
identity with our strict society. We promote education, human rights,
social justice, peace and tolerance to bring closer to society that is
free from prejudice & discrimination. I have been working since
1994 for human rights of gay youths & educating them to make
awareness for discrimination free society. I educate gays to uplift
their social & mental level to live in the society with honour. It
is needed to make awareness for healthy thinking about gays. I consider
the education is the best factor to produce change in all sphere of
life from personal attitude to collective behaviour of society towards
queer. In this conference I will visit the international personalities.
I will collect & exchange our ideas & experiences from the
delegates. I can collect their ideas, experiences and achievements in
their societies. This information will be helpful for our organization
to accelerate our activities."

Out
of the Shadows: "Of the seven interviewed for this article,
three are from Pakistan and four from India... All differ in their backgrounds,
in their relations with their families and in their process of accepting
their sexuality. Yet a sense of a common South Asian culture runs through
their experiences, which, in some form, include encounters with homophobia
from other South Asians. "In the milieu in which you grew up, (homosexuality)
is not acceptable," said Mona. This lack of acceptance causes confusion
and a sense of isolation for many South Asians. Gays who come out risk
being ostracized by their family and community. Family expectations of
marriage and children, reluctance to discuss sexuality, and the common
view that homosexuality is a Western concept contribute to the intolerant
attitude toward gays in South Asian countries. Lack of communication adds
to intolerance of homosexuality. South Asians traditionally regard sexuality
as a taboo subject of discussion... In addition to treating it as an aberration,
many South Asians consider homosexuality a Western practice. Atif’s mother
asked if he became gay because of Western influences, as did Nick’s parents,
who also asked if he became gay because he was lonely in America. Stereotypes
abound, such as beliefs that all gays are promiscuous or that all homosexuals
are dying of AIDS. There is no word for homosexuality in Hindi or Urdu;
to describe a homosexual person in either language, one uses slang. In
Hindi, a gay man can be called a "hijra," which actually means eunuch or
transvestite."

To
be gay and Muslim: (Alternate Link) "For Salman Husainy, an autumn
drive four years ago was the moment of truth. Sitting in the passenger
seat of his sister Shaheen's car, he blurted out what he'd long known but
kept hidden. "I'm gay," Husainy said. Shocked, Shaheen crashed into the
car in front of her. The minor accident didn't cause any damage, and Shaheen
parked the car on the side of the road so they could talk. "Are you sure?
We don't have any gay people in our community," Shaheen said. Like most
Muslims, Shaheen had never imagined that someone praying beside her at
the mosque could be gay. Since Islam teaches that homosexuality is wrong,
gay members often keep their sexual orientation in the closet... Salman
Husainy no longer wants to be anonymous. He spent his early years in Pakistan,
where his only introduction to gays was the hijras: hermaphrodites who
dress in women's clothing and perform at weddings. Hijras are both ridiculed
and feared in Pakistan. Laughing behind the performers' backs is okay,
but beware of angering one of them - the entertainers can give curses
or blessings at birth ceremonies and weddings. Beyond the hijras, gay relationships
are kept in the closet in Pakistan. Section 377 of the Pakistani penal
code says that two men practicing intercourse can be stoned to death, but
the rule is rarely implemented. More often, gays are ostracized from friends
and family."

An
Islamic Revolutionary (The
Guardian, August 30, 2001): "Adnan Ali is a Muslim - and he’s gay.
Although he is condemned for his sexuality, he continues to defy the fundamentalists
by offering help to others like himself... "When I was growing up in Pakistan
I thought I was the only one on earth. I feel very proud to be gay and
Muslim, but it has taken me years. I thought at first I was Muslim so I
could not be gay. Then I thought I was gay so I could not be a Muslim.
"All my first affairs of course were with people who were gay and Muslim,
but no one ever reconciled the two things. Interestingly, I met most of
them at the mosques in Lahore. No, honestly — you would go just to cruise
and meet people because they were such social places."

Hijra
in Pakistan: Feminine Soul, Masculine Body (Alternate
Link): "At first glance, Hijras are men in women's clothing. So, they
must be transvestites, right? No. Most Western transvestites prefer women
as sexual partners, are often married, and only dress in women's clothing
now and then, often in secret. Hijras, on the other hand, function in society
only as women, and their partners are men and other Hijras. So, what are
the Hijras? Farrah, born Ahmed, around 35 years of age and a Hijra for
the last 20 years, explains, "We are neither men nor women. We have men's
bodies and women's souls." We are in a squalid neighborhood of Karachi,
sitting in a tiny room that Farrah shares with Balli, also a Hijra. Like
most Hijras, they entered the Hijra world in their youth, "We were born
Hijras and felt by the age of 5 or 6 that we weren't boys," Farrah explains.
They followed tradition by taking girl's names and choosing a guru or "mistress,"
and have ever since worn only women's clothing, long hair, and lots of
makeup. For many years they have been living together in their guru's house
with five other "daughters" in their extended Hijra family.

The
Hijras of Pakistan: "On the bottom rungs of Pakistan's social ladder,
the eunuch-transvestites or "Hijras" scrape out a hard existence. Cultural
descendants of the court eunuchs of the Mughal Empire (1526-1858), the
Hijras now earn their living as beggars, dancers and prostitutes. Though
often reported on in India, the Hijras of Pakistan are relatively unknown
outside of that country. Most Pakistani cities have sizable Hijra communities,
divided into clan groups living mostly in slums and presided over by a
leader or guru. Hijra means hermaphrodite in Urdu, but most Hijras are
homosexual transvestites, some of whom have gone through a crude sex-change
operation. The Hijras are both feared and pitied in Pakistan, feared for
their supposed ability to place curses, pitied for being outcast children
of Allah." - De Hijras in India en Pakistan.

Pakistan
police caught in killer transvestite trap: "He told police he had
been stranded when his bus broke down and had been attacked and robbed
while walking home. They didn't believe him and after a 'thorough interrogation'
the man revealed the truth: his assailants were transvestite homosexual
prostitutes - known as hijras - he had followed into a field for sex. Every
town in Pakistan has its hijras. For centuries homosexuals, and transsexuals,
have lived together communally and made a living from dancing at weddings,
offering blessings or threatening curses, and prostitution. Traditionally,
hijras have been thought lucky and valued socially. But recently they have
been reduced to petty crime, drug abuse, steroids and botched surgical
operations. And as more militant versions of Islam have grown in strength,
so has intolerance."

America,
My Love: Uncle Sam and a gay immigrant from the land of the Islamic bomb:
""Bugga" is the derisive term tribal Baluchi people use for gay men like
myself who take the "passive" role. The word is actually synonymous with
the English epithet, "faggot." In Baluchi culture, no male person is considered
worse than a bugga. There's a saying that for a male it's all right to
do anything other than to steal or take the "passive" role in sex with
another man. Like neighboring Afghans and Iranians, Baluchi culture does
not stigmatize the man playing the "active" role in gay sex. The cultural
stigma of homosexuality is further compounded by Islam's threat of hell
for gays, as almost all Baluchi are Muslims. As a child, I heard family
gossip that my dad's eldest half brother was a cross-dressing gay in Burma.
Mom never forgave my uncle for that. She cast him in the role of a villain,
and used his example to brainwash me against gays. This played havoc with
me when I began grappling with my own homosexuality, growing up in Pakistan
as a middle-class teenager..."

Thesis
on child abuse flusters PU teachers: "A thesis on child abuse and
homosexuality was censored by Punjab University teachers because of its
“taboo” contents.... Most victims of sexual assault are attacked in seminaries
and jails, the thesis says. Several chapters of her dissertation, titled
‘Expressions of physical assault of adolescents during their childhood’,
have been removed and only an “approved” version is now in the library,
students told Daily Times. Ms Koser initially wished to call the dissertation
‘Unnatural offence: causes and consequences’, but her teachers thought
this was too provocative a title... According to Ms Koser’s thesis, there
was no single factor leading towards child abuse, but a lack of sex education
was one of the main reasons. A lack of knowledge created curiosity, which
led older children towards homosexuality and sadism... Ms Koser interviewed
more than 100 children aged 10 and 18 and found that 35 percent of them
had been sexually abused or indulged in homosexual activity with other
children. She interviewed boys from the posh areas of the city, around
Data Darbar, the Lahore Railway Station, the General Bus Stand and Camp
Jail. According to her research, 54 percent of homosexual acts were consensual,
while 30 percent said they were coerced and 16 percent said they were assaulted
and raped by older boys. Several children in jail said they had been abused
by jail officials... According to the thesis, homosexuality among boys
and girls was on the rise because children considered it less likely they
would be caught..."

NACP & UNAIDS (2006). Pakistan, Country Report. For The Risks and Responsibilities International Consultation on Male Sexual Health and HIVC in Asia and the Pacific. PDF Download.Content/Download Page:
"MSM: 2-3 groups in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore... Legally MSMs cannot
form organization... Hijras networks exist all over Pakistan...
Sub-national HIV prevalence among MSM : Karachi: 7% in 2004 and 5% in
2006 according to (HASP)... MSM: specific HIV programmes face problems
with law enforcement... ‘MSM and HIV’ are part of the country’s scaling
up towards universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support
initiative : YES. If “YES” Describe: Mid Term review of the National
Response is being under taken presently. This would be followed by
revising the National Strategic Plan and Scaling up of services for the
vulnerable group as envisaged in the country consultation on Scaling up
to Universal Access."

BHUTAN
-Gay
Bhutan (Global
Gayz):
"Introduction: A story about 'gay' Bhutan is not much of a tale. There
is no gay presence, no venues, no organizations. What little can be
reported is only discerned from few anecdotes reported by observers who
have lived in this small mountain country--and who are hesitant to tell
all they know. Included here are three commentary/interviews by three
'insiders' who offer small windows of knowledge about Bhutan's 'open
secret' tradition of sacred and secular bi-sexuality..."

Dorji G (Programme Manager, HIV/AIDS, Ministry of Health, 2006). Bhutan: Country Report. For The Risks and Responsibilities International Consultation on Male Sexual Health and HIVC in Asia and the Pacific.PDF Download.Content/Download Page:
"Does the country have a National Strategic Plan on HIV? Yes. - Is
there a surveillance system in the country to monitor and report
male-to-male sexual transmission of HIV? No. - There are no
MSM-specific programmes and interventions in the National HIV Plan. -
Are there MSM social structures (e.g. Networks, social groups,
organisations) in the country? No. Is there ‘MSM-HIV’ related
leadership in the country? (spokespersons, politicians,MSM representatives on official platforms, committees) No...."

MALDIVES
- Crime
and Politics in the Maldives: "The Maldivian society considers certain
crimes more shameful than others. Among these are homosexuality, fraud
and petty theft. If a man were arrested for homosexuality, he would tell
his friends he was found with a girl." - The
Horrors of Maafushi prison in Maldives: "When prisoners practise homosexuality
in the block, it is largely ignored, but those who don't perform prayers
in the congregation are hunted and punished..."

A Gay Choice?:
On a short walk home with a friend of mine, I asked, jokingly, if he
would still consider me his friend if I were to confess my latent
homosexuality to him. After a short pause to contemplate what I had
just asked him, he sternly replied that he would not. Upon my
insistence he could not justify why he would abandon our friendship,
and only gave me lame reasons such as “you might start hitting off on
me”. I sardonically challenged him by asking him to explain how he had
female friends with such a dimwitted rationale. I asked another friend
what he would do if he woke up one fine morning to find himself
attracted to members of the same sex. His quick reply was to commit
suicide... [Note: A range of opinions from Maldavians are present.]

15 Minutes with Sappe':
Minivan News spends Fifteen Minutes with Ahmed Moosa (Sappe'),
editor-in-chief of the Dhivehi Observer newspaper and one of 15 people
elected to the Council of the Maldivian Democratic Party
(MDP)...Homosexuality, paedophilia and rape are crimes in Maldives and
we must expose those who commit these crimes. These people are evil and
we do not have to respect them. I certainly don't. They should be
behind bars...

Life in A Gay Perspective: - The weekend...It's
a Thursday evening, the streets of Malé are crawling with
people, like insects. I'm sitting here inside, still in my PJs, with my
brand new squeaky clean blog and not knowing what to type in it... So
here I am. Plain old me. And yes, very, very Gay as opposed to the
all-Maldivian, "hey, I'm not gay, I'm bi." Personally, I feel that
being Bi is worse... it means you're willing to have sex with anything
that walks on two legs. Which doesn't look good on your
resumé... your romantic resumé. You finally find the guy
of your dreams and you go and blurt out, "Hey, I'm bi." Oops. - Some questions for thought:
Why is it that a majority of the men in Maldives who think they are
gay, are actually male to female transexuals in denial? Is it a norm
that you just have to be feminine and make feminine jokes if you're
gay? But more importantly... Why do we classify ourselves as Gay,
Lesbian, Bi or Transexual? Why do we tie ourselves down to labels?... -
The Maldives, Gay Men and Love:
The rampant sexual behavior exhibited by the so called, “I don’t want
to love, I am only one-touch-good-bye” gay Maldivians give the normal
gay men a real headache... The Maldivian gay guys are worse than
gossipy old women.... - Marriage of Convenience.

Reviewing Life from Maldives: - Hetero, gay or bi – does it matter?:
...from my own experiences, in Maldives, where “holhuashi” culture has
been the norm for centuries, we are quite tolerant of things like
people’s alternate sexualities but will like to joke about it because
there isn’t much else to do... So coming back to the question whether I
am gay or bi or hetero or lesbian ... I believe that people’s
sexualities are quite flexible, and under the “right” circumstances,
will engage in any kind of sexual activity... t the onset of our
friendship, I told Zon that “he was the nicest person who must have
come into existence in the 16 billion year history of the universe.”
The way that he smiled that day, I am sure he was the happiest person
at that time. And I am calling religion a virus because I saw what it
did to him. I saw what it did to my relationship. I saw how religion
can turn such a nice person into a monster whose face and character I
was to never understand again... To elaborate on the question of what
percent of people in the world are hetero, bi or gay, let me say that
according to statistics and studies conducted, a larger proportion,
about 80 percent of people are “practicing” heteros. This is
understandable because bisexuality and homosexuality are still taboo
subjects and frowned upon by most societies, and since biology works to
fulfill our evolutionary function of reproduction by having sex with
the opposite sex. According to studies, practicing bisexuals may be 20
or so percent. And strictly practicing gay and lesbian people make up a
mere 3 or less percent. But this does not refute my earlier argument.
This is “practicing” percentage. As I said before, I believe that every
body is a latent bisexual who have the potential to engage in any kind
of sex, given the “right” circumstances. As to the ultimate question,
am I gay, here is the answer: I once went to visit a British
psychologist to have a chat, and from what she told me this is what I
understand about myself: I am bisexual, naturally, but in her words,
“have a stronger passion towards men.”

Disobedient editor:
But Aminath Najeeb, a highly respected Maldivian journalist and editor
of the daily newspaper, Minivan (freedom), points out that it is
important for “the international community not to look at the Maldives
simply as a haven for tourists, a country of atolls, the blue ocean,
silver sands and coconut palms swaying in the tropical breeze.”
Instead, she says, more attention should be paid to “the brutal way in
which the country’s citizens are being denied their fundamental rights
and the way the local media is gagged.” Najeeb, one of the country’s
only women editors and a prominent female journalist, has first hand
experience of the latter. In fact, on Monday (30 April) she is due to
appear in court to face charges of “disobedience to order,” a provision
of the Maldives Penal Code that facilitates the violation of the right
to freedom of expression and assembly, according to Amnesty
International... Dear Ammaa, she’s not only the editor of Minvan “fatha
fohli” she’s also the prominent leader of Lesbian groups in Maldives,
also the one who encourages Christianity in Muslim Maldives…. So Ammu
ji… thats right she needs your help….good work!!!!

A
Situation Assessment of HIV/AIDS in the Maldives for the Year 2000 (PDF
Download) (Alternate Link): "“Dhivehi society combines a rigid legalistic and prudish
attitude toward sex at the ideal level, with a remarkably open attitude
at the behavioural level” (8:367). The same observation was recorded in
the year 1611 (16) and appears as true today as it was then. All sexual
behaviours that spread HIV are found in the Maldives, but the frequencies
and numbers of persons involved are yet unknown. Foreign and Maldivian
sex workers can be found in Male’, as can standard S. Asian patterns of
homosexuality... Also of importance is the fact that the majority of MSM
are likely to be married, in keeping with the S. Asian pattern."

de Lind van Wijngaarden JV (2006). The HIV/AIDS situation in the Republic of the Maldives in 2006. National HIV/AIDS Council (NAC),
Ministry of Health of the Maldives and the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS (PDF Download):
"Male sex work seems rare. However, one 13-year old and one 14-year old
boy were found who reportedly have sex with men in exchange for money,
for as little as 30 Rf. The boys estimated there are about 10 more boys
in a similar position in their quarter. Sex takes place in cheap
guesthouses around the cities, and customers are mainly port
laborers... Male to male sex between teenagers: as part of growing up,
boys may explore their emerging sexuality by playing ‘games’ with each
other, for example while having a shower (see case study below). These
games usually involve mutual masturbation, but sometimes also oral and
anal sex. Key informants estimate at a large proportion of Maldivian
men experience this form of same-sex behavior when they are young.
Similar to the above, male to male sex between men in all-male
environments can occur for similar reasons: when men are away from
their wife for a long time, some turn to each other for ‘sexual
relief’... According to key informants, in the Maldives 90-95% of men
with homosexual orientation do get married. Being married does not
prevent them from continuing their sexual activity with men. Many of
these men find partners through social networks, and increasingly by
using the internet...

Maldives Country Profile: Chapter 8 (PDF Download):
STI/HIV/AIDS: "Key informants indicated that sexual networks among men
who have sex with men (MSM) may be far larger than between men and
women practicing casual sex. Fear of discovery and legal prosecution
limit these practices; though do not diminish them entirely..."

Holiday
at the Maldives: "Homosexuality is also illegal, so you can't be too
open about it. At the resorts you usually meet only other European tourists,
and they don't express problems with a gay lifestyle. This means, however,
that the Maldives are certainly not a destination for people looking for
a sex holiday... See commentaries. "

Maldives; the first Islamic country to legalise homosexuality and gay marriages?:
Speculation is mounting that Gayyoom's brother Abdulla Hameed,
Maldives' most notorious bi-sexual, is going to propose a change of law
in the upcoming constitutional reform agenda which is now underway.
Homosexuality has been a trend of the ruling elite in the Maldives and
this is one of the best known public secrets in the Maldives. In
addition to homosexuality, paedophilia is common among this princely,
powerful and proud 'elite', who have a deep conviction that the wealth
of the country belongs to them and that the people of Maldives are
their slaves... Hameed is such a powerful man that he will do
whatever he can to get his way. This leads us to believe that when the
new constitution is amended and adopted, homosexuality and gay
marriages will be legalised in the Maldives making it the first ever
Islamic country to do so... - Rangali Island forum: Are gay couples accepted in the Maldives? - Interview with a foreign gay person in Maldives.

Short Story: "The
Only Living Boy in Male":
Ali also had a strong belief that it was God's mercy to him to date
that he had never actually indulged in gay sex. Although he certainly
hated his autistic character, Ali believed that it was this autistic
character itself that kept people from him at a distance and therefore
never led to an opportunity where it could lead to sex, gay or
straight. And concerning the case with Nihad, Ali inwardly felt that it
was divine intervention somehow that day that prevented him and Nihad
from actually indulging in gay sex, other than harmlessly touching each
other's manhood. Now in his early 30s, and very much confused, not a
day passes without Ali contemplating suicide. Sometimes he spends hours
lying on his bed, mentally tired, and seriously in thought, and there
comes certain points where his mind stops thinking, and he actually
touches the veins on his wrist...

Youth Voices: Facts, Opinions and Solutions (2005, PDF Download).
From a religious point of view the youth rank in the following order
the issues to avoid: a. Homosexuality. b. Sex Outside Marriage. c.
Taking Drugs. d. Drinking Alcohol. e. Sexual Violence. f. Stealing. g.
Lying/Cheating... About 78% of the youth reported that they are not at
‘risk’ for ‘the major social issues facing youth today’ that they had
listed, such as drugs, alcohol, unemployment and illegal sexual
activities. However, 19% consider themselves at risk.

The development of these GLBT information web pages were made possible
through the collaboration of Richard Ramsay (Professor, Faculty of Social
Work, University of Calgary) and Pierre Tremblay (independent researcher,
writer, and GLBT children and youth advocate) who both recognize that often
needed social changes occur as the result of knowledge availability and
dissemination. Additional Information at: Warning,
Acknowledgments,
Authors.